Category: Public Health Law
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Vaping law reform: Protecting the Pacific
Vaping is on the rise and governments are scrambling to respond. Guest authors Sophia Bleakley, Clare Gim and Helen Zhang analyse the issues.
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Strengthening Australia’s smoke and vape-free beach culture (north, and south, of the border)
Keeping beaches smoke and vape-free severs the link between relaxation and nicotine addiction. It says you don’t need to harm your body to enjoy yourself.
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Pokies: joyless, nasty, and on the way out?
This post gives a shout out to hotel owners who are ditching their pokies to create a more family-friendly atmosphere. And to executives of registered clubs who are resisting pressure to make gambling the heart and sole of the business plan for registered clubs: see here and here. Let’s be honest: pokies (also known as…
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Regulating harmful cross-border advertising: can it be done?
How do governments prevent their citizens from being exposed to harmful online advertising which originates outside of their jurisdiction? Such advertising is referred to as cross-border advertising. Advertisers have taken advantage of a digitised, interconnected world to reach broad audiences (including children) across national borders.
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Indigenous Peoples’ Inclusion in Food Governance
For NAIDOC Week, Dr Mark Lock speaks to Dr Belinda Reeve about championing health equity and inclusion for First Nations Australians in food governance.
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Alcohol companies continue to play by their own rules, putting our children’s health at risk
Alcohol companies are largely left to write and administer their own rules through the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) Scheme.
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A short(ish) explainer on public health law
Stay-at-home orders, curfews, and mandatory quarantine have brought public health law to the public’s attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Big Alcohol and COVID-19: industry rules fail. Again.
By Hannah Pierce, Kathryn Backholer, Sarah Jackson and Florentine Martino Reposted from MJA Insights: https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2021/11/big-alcohol-and-covid-19-failing-self-regulation-again/ WE know some people are more likely to drink – and drink more – during times of uncertainty and stress. Unsurprisingly, the alcohol industry is also aware of this. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated how quickly and creatively the alcohol industry will…
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COVID-19, medical research governance, and public health orders
Posted by Belinda Reeve on behalf of Cate Stewart The impact of coronavirus-related biomedical research and public heath laws have been considered in recent articles co-authored by Cameron Stewart, Professor of Health, Law and Ethics at the University of Sydney Law School. Science at warp speed: COVID-19 medical research governance In biomedical research focused on developing COVID-19 vaccines…
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Strengthening law’s role in improving Australia’s diet
Alexandra Jones and Belinda Reeve This post originally appeared in MJA Insight and is re-posted with the MJA’s kind permission. The original article can be found at this link. THE law can be a powerful tool for improving population health, but remains underutilised in addressing Australia’s huge burden of diet-related disease. Taken in a broad…
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Upcoming event: the 2019 Food Governance Conference
Sydney Health Law is hosting the second Food Governance Conference from the 3rd to the 5th of July this year. The Conference is a collaboration between Sydney Law School, the University’s Charles Perkins Centre and The George Institute for Global Health. The 2019 Conference will explore how law, policy, and regulation address (or contribute to)…
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Upcoming events: Protecting children from unhealthy food marketing – learning from the past, ideas for the future
Along with Cancer Council NSW and the Charles Perkins Centre’s Food Governance Node, Sydney Health Law is hosting an event on regulation of unhealthy food marketing to children. Protecting children from unhealthy food marketing remains a hot topic, given increasing concern about children’s diet-related health. In Australia, food marketing to children is regulated largely through…
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Cracking the Codex: the new frontier for nutrition labelling
Previous Alexandra Jones, Global health lawyer and PhD Candidate at The George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney Dr Anne Marie Thow, Senior Lecturer in Health Policy at the University of Sydney Dr Carmen Huckel Schneider, Senior Lecturer, Health Policy at the University of Sydney and co-lead of the Health Governance and Financing Group and…
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Santa, Coke and Christmas: Why we need legislative restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children
Laws in many countries prohibit false and misleading advertising. The recent case of ACCC v Heinz (which I discussed in a blog post last week) shows how these laws can knock out false and misleading food advertisements. But what about the perfectly legal promotions for unhealthy foods and beverages that fill our TV screens, social…
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ACCC v Heinz: A significant win for public health
In a significant victory for public health, Australia’s Federal Court has held that Heinz engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in the marketing of a snack food targeted to toddlers (ACCC v Heinz [2018] FCA 360). The case should be seen as a win for public health not just because of the final outcome, but…
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Upcoming events: The Food Governance Showcase
On Friday the 3rd of November, Sydney Health Law is co-hosting the Food Governance Showcase at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre. The Showcase will present new research from University of Sydney researchers and affiliates, examining the role of law, regulation and policy in creating a healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system. The Showcase…
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Upcoming events: Engaging with Advocates
On Friday the 28th of July, Sydney Health Law is hosting Engaging with Advocates, along with the Food Governance Node and the Healthy Food Systems Node at the Charles Perkins Centre. This event aims to connect early career researchers with leading civil society advocates in order to foster collaboration and increase the impact of research. Representatives…
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Promoting health goals in a self-regulating industry
Earlier this year I published an article on self-regulation of food marketing to children in Australia. I focused on two voluntary codes developed by the Australian food industry to respond to concerns about children’s exposure to junk food advertising, and how it might affect their eating habits. My article pointed out the many loopholes in…
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Self-regulation of junk food advertising to kids doesn’t work. Here’s why.
Recently, Cancer Council NSW published a study finding that food industry self-regulation in Australia has not been effective in reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing. Australian children still see, on average, three advertisements for unhealthy foods and beverages during each hour of prime time television they watch. This figure remains unchanged despite the Australian…
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Sydney Health Law’s Food Governance Conference
In the first week of November, Sydney Health Law will be hosting the Food Governance Conference. The conference is a collaborative endeavor between Sydney Law School and the Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney’s dedicated institute for easing the global burden of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The conference also has sponsorship from…