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The role of law in noncommunicable disease prevention: an easy-to-digest explanation
Public health lawyers like me are often challenged on their claim that the law can (and should) play a significant role in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Future Leaders, an Australian philanthropic organisation, has recently published an open-access, clearly written book on NCD prevention called Dancing in the Rain: Living with NCDs, which includes a chapter…
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Lifetime achievement award for Professor Lawrence Gostin
Professor Lawrence Gostin, the Linda and Timothy O’Neill Professor of Global Health Law, Georgetown University, and a longtime friend of Sydney Law School and the Centre for Health Governance, Law & Ethics, has been honoured by the American Public Health Association’s Law Section for “Lifetime Achievement in Public Health Law ”. Professor Gostin teaches a…
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Dancing on Christopher Hitchens’ grave? The tricky business of talking about consequences
A “pro-smoking blogger for the libertarian right” accuses me of “dancing on Christopher Hitchens’ grave”. And other stuff. Christopher Snowdon is a Research Fellow for the UK-based Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank that receives tobacco funding. He is an opponent of plain tobacco packaging, keeper of the pure flame of libertarianism etc. My sin…
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The ACT sin bins junk food ads on buses
The ACT attracted media attention this week for becoming the first Australian jurisdiction to regulate ride-sharing services like Uber. But the ACT’s also been active in an area that’s close to the heart of many public health advocates: regulation of junk food and alcohol advertising. Promotions for these products will be banned on ACTION buses, along…
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Bundaberg Rum and Dora the Explorer: the reality of alcohol advertising in Australia
My 3-year old daughter loves Dora the Explorer. She thinks that bossy little know-it-all, Dora, is really cool. She used to be frightened of The Swiper, but that changed as she grew older. Last night, I sat her down in front of a laptop and let her watch an episode of Dora on YouTube. Right…
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Consider yourself warned: Public health coming to a fast food menu near you
New York City’s Board of Health last week unanimously agreed to require ‘salt-shaker’ warning symbols on menu items with more than an entire day’s recommended limit of 2300mg of sodium. That’s around one teaspoon of salt. Restaurants with more than 15 outlets nationally will display warnings from 1 December 2015. Industry groups and the National…
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Our new Nanny State? The Senate inquiry into tobacco, alcohol, and bicycle helmet laws
Earlier this month, Senator David Leyonhjelm announced aSsenate inquiry into legislative and policy measures introduced to restrict personal choice “for the individual’s own good,” including laws related to tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, bicycle helmets, and film classification. Leaving to one side the irony of a government inquiry into government’s unreasonable interference in our lives, many…
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A tiny illustration of what the tobacco industry is like
Click on this link. It’s a tiny illustration of what the tobacco industry is like. It ought to be placed on the health curriculum of every school. Professor Stephen Leeder once wrote that public health is a “contest of raw political power” (S.R. Leeder, “Ethics in public health” Internal Medicine Journal 2004; 34:435-439). Basically, it’s…
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Mixed signals on e-cigarettes in NSW
In a move likely to upset the pro-vaping brigade, NSW has substantially strengthened the regulation of e-cigarettes. The Public Health (Tobacco) Amendment (E-cigarettes) Act 2015 (NSW) [“E-cigarette Amendment”], applies to e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories, regardless of whether they contain nicotine. It extends a number of existing tobacco controls to e-cigarettes. As first introduced, the government’s…
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Patching up America’s broken heart: Could regulatory theory offer a solution to gun violence in the US?
On Wednesday morning, the US suffered another gun-related tragedy. This time, reporter Alison Parker and camera man Adam Ward from WDBJ-TV, Virginia, were shot dead on air by a disgruntled former colleague. Alison Parker’s father has said that he will not rest until the US introduces stronger gun control laws, and he challenged the media…
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Local government action: a new pathway for obesity prevention in Australia
Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Stephen Simpson (Director of the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney) and Rosemary Calder (health policy Director at the Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy at Victoria University), call for community-based action to prevent chronic disease. They point to communities like Broken Hill, which has high…
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Why is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce playing patsy to the tobacco industry, and what does this mean for Australia?
“From Ukraine to Uruguay, Moldova to the Philippines” – according to the New York Times – the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its affiliates “have become the hammer for the tobacco industry”. This is revealed by “interviews with government ministers, lobbyists, lawmakers and public health groups in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States.” By…
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Those pesky Dutch are at it again
Those pesky Dutch are at it again. Rather than slashing investments in renewable energy, or preparing for the imminent threat of global cooling, a court in the low country has ruled that the Dutch government has a legal duty to contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate disaster caused by excess greenhouse gas emissions. The…
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Policing parenting: is the Family Court going to punish you for having a drink?
Sascha Callaghan, University of Sydney News outlets have pounced on a Family Court “order” for parents of a six-year-old boy to not smoke around the child and to limit their alcohol consumption while caring for him. Readers commented that the case represents an unacceptable “intervention by the courts into the personal space of the individual”,…
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Immigration department breaches the privacy rights of asylum seekers
An article in The Guardian today claims that the Department of Immigration has sought access to confidential medical records of asylum seekers for ‘political purposes.’ The article reports on a briefing document written by a senior clinician at International Health and Medical Services (which delivers health services at mainland and offshore detention centres), which appears…
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World Health Organisation publishes new report on overweight, obesity, diabetes and the law
Posted by Jenny Kaldor and Roger Magnusson This is the view when you look out the front gates of the World Health Organisation’s regional headquarters in Manila. A few blocks away, in the processed food aisles of the supermarket, parents are encouraged to purchase “nutrition power for kids”. The Western Pacific Region, which includes Australia,…
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Fanta ad falls flat before the Advertising Standards Board
Coca-Cola has been forced to remove advertisements for Fanta after the Advertising Standards Board found that the promotions breached the Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative, a voluntary code on responsible food marketing to children. The rulings came after the Obesity Policy Coalition laid three complaints about the ‘Fanta Tastes Like’ campaign, which included ads during prime…
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It’s time for the government to stop shooting the messenger
The constant attacks on Professor Gillian Triggs represent attacks on the human rights and civil liberties that Australians value. Since 1986, the Human Rights Commission has been the watchdog for human rights for Australia. The President and her Commissioners are necessarily independent of government and have a duty to fearlessly advocate for human rights protections…
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Muzzling health and welfare professionals in the name of national security: Australia’s Border Force Act 2015
As law professors employed by one of Australia’s oldest law schools, we live and breathe law, and care about the rule of law. Frankly, however, we don’t care about it enough to stand by while government tries to muzzle dedicated professionals working in difficult conditions to protect the safety and dignity of children.
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Does Coca Cola have a role in delivering Pacific aid?
Posted by Roger Magnusson and Alexandra Jones The Foreign Minister, The Hon. Julie Bishop MP has announced that Australia will partner with companies like Coca-Cola to distribute essential medicines to Pacific Island recipients of Australian aid. The Minister is right about one thing: tobacco and fizzy drink companies have strong distribution networks that reach into…
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“Clear the Air: Stronger Vaping Laws for a Healthier NSW” New South Wales (NSW) must take urgent action to align…