695 Results

  • Good firearms law needs multiple defensive layers: The Swiss cheese model

    … Summary The Ministry of Justice has released a discussion document for the rewrite of the Arms Act 1983. The discussion document sets out a series of questions on almost every element of the Arms Act … and ideally enhance its current approach, modelled after the successful Australian laws.  The current Review of …
    Briefing

  • The alarms are flashing red: Five reasons to upgrade our Alert Level system before the next Covid-positive traveller visits a major city

    … us from outbreaks, avoid lockdowns, help us transition to a post-vaccination future, support prevention of other … Te Tiriti o Waitangi. On 19-21 June 2021 NZ experienced a critical incident in which a traveller with Delta-variant Covid-19 infection visited numerous crowded indoor venues in …
    Briefing

  • The cost burden of excess weight in New Zealand: Sizing up a new report

    … The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show a substantial up-tick in both childhood and adult obesity prevalence after plateauing for a decade. This is of great concern and it makes a new report …
    Briefing

  • The case for banning cigarette filters

    … proposed Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan sets out a perceptive vision for reducing smoking prevalence and … were less harmful than “regular” variants. 5 Even after regulators banned the use of these terms, tobacco … that changing the pH of filters led these to discolour after smoking, thus creating the misleading impression that …
    Briefing

  • COVID-19 and the law in Aotearoa NZ

    … Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of … relating to avian influenza, was enacted following a review of gaps in the Crown’s statutory powers under the … at some point between 90 days, or at maximum 2 years, after the Act came into effect on 13 May 2020. There is now a …
    Briefing

  • Covid recovery or sustainable transformation?

    … from the Covid lockdown provides an opportunity for a sustainable transformation of our society and economy, … risks? Pressure to restore business-as-usual : As new infection rates fall under New Zealand’s initial Covid … regulation . These signals ring alarm bells given how often economic development in the past has had …
    Briefing

  • Covid-19 was no black swan, but a paradigmatic black elephant

    … to drive this point home, I noted in the news today that a resident of Westport (a New Zealand town flooded by a ‘1 in … have a major effect, and are inappropriately rationalised after the fact (Taleb, 2007). However, coronavirus pandemics … rears its head’ ( Gupta, 2009 ). Knowledge about human cognitive biases explains why we ignore these kinds of risks …
    Briefing

  • Why a “mouth and nose” lockdown with masks might help avoid a “full body” lockdown at home

    … street/shopping scene in Hong Kong with everyone wearing a mask (photo from author [LC] personal collection) The … a lockdown. Without mass masking, if lockdown is lifted after 9 weeks and social distancing alone is employed, …   All hospitality venues closed by midnight (for both infection control and injury prevention [6] reasons given the …
    Briefing

  • Long Covid: High economic burden justifies further preventive efforts

    … Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive impairment leading to difficulties with memory and attention. … unwell (presenteeism). Cognitive impairment is common after a mild infection, 13-16 indicating a need for formal …
    Briefing

  • When the first barrier fails: Strengthening protection for drinking water sources

    … Summary Safe, good quality drinking water is a foundation of public health. The first, and most … (WDC) was meeting its responsibilities as a supplier. After detecting nitrate above half of the MAV (5.65mg/L), it … health is underrepresented in regional planning and is often not prioritised. To strengthen responsibility and …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)