Roger Magnusson
-
“Party like it’s payday!” urges Diageo Australia (before your welfare cheque runs out?)
It looks like Diageo Australia is at it again. No, this time they’re not advertising Bundy Rum to a 3 year old. Instead, they’re urging Western Australians to “Party like it’s payday” – hoisting ads for Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold Rum around the Perth suburbs, including right outside a Centrelink office. Whatever were they…
-
Dr Rodney Syme and Nembutal
A Good Death In the mid-1970s, a Melbourne urologist, Rodney Syme, sat facing Len, a man whose invasive bladder cancer was causing incontinence and blood clots that blocked the flow of urine. Len needed to urinate every fifteen minutes, and frequently wet himself. He was in excruciating pain. It is cases like this, Syme would…
-
Advancing the Right to Health: the Vital Role of Law
More than 20 years ago, Chris Reynolds, an Australian pioneer in our understanding of public health law, wrote that: “law is a powerful tool, as potent as any of the medical technologies available to treat disease”, and yet “our understanding of the potential of [public health law]…to help…citizens to lead longer and healthier lives, is…
-
Once more with feeling…Barnaby Joyce on the merits of a sugary drinks tax
When I looked up from marking exams and saw the look on Barnaby Joyce’s face, I just knew he was seeing red about the Grattan Institute’s proposal for a sugary drinks tax, levied at a rate of 40 cents per 100 grams of sugar. The Grattan Institute report estimates that such a tax would…
-
UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel: a bold vision for improving access to essential medicines, or a “deep disappointment”?
The UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Access to Medicines published its final report on 14 September 2016. It took just two days for the US State Department to dismiss the report in a strongly-worded rebuke. The Panel’s recommendations cover a wide area, including countries’ use of the flexibilities contained in TRIPS [the World Trade…
-
Abortion law reform on the horizon in NSW and Queensland
Contrary to popular belief, abortion is not available “on demand” in NSW. The Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) contains three criminal offences relating to abortion. Section 83 creates an offence for unlawfully administering a drug or using any instrument or other means to procure a woman’s miscarriage, Section 82 creates an offence for a woman to…
-
The Callinan inquiry into Sydney’s lock-out laws
A few questions came to mind when I read that former High Court Justice Ian Callinan had been appointed to head the independent inquiry into amendments to NSW’s liquor licensing laws, including the controversial lock-out laws”. Mr Callinan was a member of the High Court when it decided, by a 3:2 majority, that hoteliers owe…
-
Are these photos the pointy end of tobacco control? Or just another example of what the tobacco industry does best?
If the e-cigarette industry in Australia has a martyr, his name is probably Vince van Heerden. More about him in a moment. Advocates for e-cigarettes claim that they are a healthier alternative to smoking, and provide a ray of hope for desperately addicted smokers. However, before you make up your mind, look at how e-cigarettes…
-
Advancing global and national health security: lessons from SARS and MERS to Ebola and Zika
Public seminar announcement Over the past decade, the world has faced a series of global health crises involving contagious diseases with pandemic potential. From novel influenzas (H5N1 and H1N1), coronaviruses (SARS, and MERS) to the Ebola and Zika viruses, governments and international organisations have struggled to act quickly and decisively. The consequences loom large in…
-
Democracy is not a spectator sport: more on campaign finance and public health
In October 2015, at the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference, Professor Mike Daube, one of Australia’s best-known public health advocates, gave the closing address. He wore a tie given to him some years ago by an American colleague. It read: “Democracy is not a spectator sport”. On the back were the words: “Made exclusively for Philip…
-
Campaign finance: a neglected public health issue
Enjoying the Australian election? Of course you aren’t. But campaign finance and political donations are a neglected public health issue. A few years ago I asked the Chairman of an Australian tobacco company “Why do you do it? Why give political donations at all?” “[F]or the same reasons as Westfield or anyone else”, he answered. …
-
Some upcoming events
Have you ever thought about refreshing your qualifications by studying postgraduate law at Sydney Law School? On Tues 31 May 2016, Sydney Law School is holding its Postgraduate Information Evening. This is an opportunity to talk to Law School academics about options for postgraduate study, including the Master of Health Law program, individual units of…
-
California raises the minimum purchase age for cigarettes and e-cigarettes
Last week was a big week for those who think the law should have a role in helping to reduce the 6 million deaths caused each year by tobacco. First, tobacco taxes In 2013, the Rudd government announced a 12.5% increase in the tobacco excise to take effect over 4 years: 1 Dec 2013; 1…
-
Donors and recipients of embryos and eggs – what happens when the relationship breaks down?
NSW Health has begun an investigation into allegations published last week by Fairfax media that the recipient of a donated embryo covered up the fact of her successful pregnancy in order to mislead IVF Australia and sever ties with the embryo donors. Natalie Parker and her husband had three spare embryos left over from previous…
-
When the tobacco industry dumps cheap eastern European ciggies on the Australian market, it’s time to impose mandatory reporting of sales data
Fairfax media reports that Australian supermarkets – Coles, IGA, Foodworks – are selling cut-price smokes. Not surprised. Supermarkets – including Coles and Woolworths – are among Australia’s largest tobacco retailers; they also offer discounts for alcohol in the co-located alcohol chains they own. When I hear supermarket spin-doctors talking about their commitment to health, it…
-
A short review of the NSW Government’s “one-punch” alcohol control reforms
In February 2016, former High Court Justice the Hon. Ian Callinan AC QC was appointed by the NSW Government to review the effectiveness of the “lockouts” and the 3am liquor sales cessation period on the Sydney CBD entertainment precinct, the Kings Cross precinct, and potential displacement areas. Mr Callinan will also consider the impact of…
-
ABAC Complaints Panel won’t consider complaint about Diageo Australia spamming 3 year-old with Bundaberg Rum video-advert
It’s official. Spamming children with alcohol advertisements does not breach the ABAC Code, the alcohol industry’s swiss-cheese voluntary standard for alcohol advertising regulation. The Chief Adjudicator of the ABAC Complaints Panel has ruled that the Panel will not consider a complaint about Diageo Australia spamming a 3 year-old with a Bundaberg Rum video-advert when she…
-
WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity presents final report and recommendations
The World Health Organisation’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, appointed by WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan in 2014, has now formally presented its final report. The Commission was co-chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, the Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Dr Sania Nishtar, the founder and President of Heartfile, a…
-
Victoria’s new “safe access” law for abortion services
When I lived in inner Melbourne I often saw anti-abortion protestors picketing one particular medical practice on Swanston Street that provided abortion services. On a number of occasions I would see a car pull up and (what looked to be) a teenage girl hopping out, trying to shield her privacy with a jacket held over…
-
ABAC didn’t ignore your complaint, we were just being incompetent, says Advertising Standards Bureau
A few days ago, DrinkTank re-published a post from Sydneyhealthlaw about the failure of the ABAC Complaints Panel to respond to a complaint about Diageo streaming a liquor ad at a 3 year-old. DrinkTank ’s post was brought to the attention of the folks at ABAC and the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) . If you want to…