Tag: prevention

  • Strengthening Australia’s smoke and vape-free beach culture (north, and south, of the border)

    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.

  • Another step forward for the Pacific Legislative Framework

    Another step forward for the Pacific Legislative Framework

    Pacific Island Countries and Territories have some of the world’s highest rates of health risks. In response, the Public Health Division of the Pacific Community (SPC) has been driving an initiative for tackling the key risk factors: the Pacific Legislative Framework.

  • Freedom to protest, public health, and Covid-19

    Update: the podcast of the event described below is now available, click here. Recently, a number of protests have taken place on the grounds of The University of Sydney against Commonwealth government education policies.  See, for example, here (28 August) and here (14 October). During the latter protest, police were filmed throwing a demonstrator heavily onto…

  • Post Covid: alcohol and the night time economy in the Sydney CBD

    Sydney’s CBD has been bleak and empty the past few months, especially at night, but coronavirus restrictions in NSW are slowly easing. From 1 June, pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants can seat up to 50 customers (instead of the previous 10), provided businesses ensure social distancing of one person per 4 square metres, and no…

  • Despite industry objections, alcohol and pregnancy warnings will be mandatory in Australia and New Zealand

    The food regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has finalised the form of the alcohol and pregnancy warning label that will be mandatory on packaged alcohol sold in both countries. Assuming the States do not request a further review, the new warning will be added as an amendment to Standard 1.2.7 of the Food…

  • Smoke-free streets and lanes: a growing headache for big tobacco?

    Smoke-free Melbourne? One of Melbourne’s quintessential experiences is to stroll its laneways, many lined with restaurants.  Smoking here would spoil things for everyone. In 2014, Causeway Lane, a small restaurant strip running between Bourke Street Mall and Little Collins Street, went smokefree. You can read reactions to this smoke-free pilot here. Three more laneways were…

  • Breastfeeding rooms in US federal buildings: who would have thought?!

    Last year the US watered down a resolution of the World Health Assembly that would have called on States to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding”, and to provide technical support to “halt inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children”. A step too far, apparently, given the economic interests of US-domiciled formula companies. See…

  • Why the media gets it wrong on obesity

    “I’m not overweight”, writes columnist Katrina Grace Kelly in The Australian.  “I’m just the helpless pawn of a vicious corporate conspiracy”. Amusing read, but it also illustrates why public health researchers are failing to cut-through with governments and the broader community on obesity. “The ‘obesogenic environment’ is the culprit here, apparently”, Kelly writes, referring to…

  • Beyond the “hot tub”: Australia’s runaway obesity epidemic

    How sure are you that you won’t lose your feet or toes to diabetes? According to a new report by the Obesity Collective, based at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, obesity in Australia is getting much, much worse. Between 2014-15 and 2017-18, the obesity rate in Australian adults rose from 27.9%…

  • Put another Winfield on the Barbie

    Having actor Paul Hogan headline Cure Cancer’s “Barbecure” makes no sense to me. Put another shrimp on the barbie, I get it.  But so what? Hogan may regret the staggeringly successful “Anyhow, have a Winfield” advertising campaign he headed in the 1970s, but his presence in a cure cancer campaign is inept.  It muddies the…