Happy to say that despite some delays the NZ Ministry of Health have confirmed the review of the Low-Risk Drinking Advice is still going ahead. www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Low-risk drinking advice review too slow: researcher

An independent alcohol researcher says he's concerned officials have slowed a review into the country's drinking advice.

rnz.co.nz

HUGE new study shows 'alcohol is not good for your health' & that: 💀 Even 1 drink a day increases the risk of death 💀 Consuming 7 drinks per week = 1-in-1000 lifetime risk of death 💀 Consuming 8+ drinks per week = 1-in-100 lifetime risk of death @camhnews.bsky.social www.jsad.com/doi/full/10....

Alcohol Intake and Health Study: No Protective Effect at Low Levels, With Mortality Increasing to 1 in 25 at 14 Drinks Per Week: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs: Vol 87, No 4

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the lifetime risk of alcohol-attributable mortality and morbidity in the United States based on a person’s average lifetime weekly alcohol consumpt...

jsad.com

It is concerning that in a democracy like Aotearoa the #AlcoholIndustry is demanding preferential treatment ABOVE the general public with special consultation on alcohol risk reviews. This is not best-practice & not what happened in UK, AUS or Canada’s recent reviews. www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Alcohol industry group calls to be consulted over drinking health advice

An alcohol industry group says it has a "fundamental right to be consulted" over a review of official health advice on so called "low risk drinking". The Health NZ guidelines are being reviewed as par...

rnz.co.nz

It’s about time we reviewed our low-risk alcohol use advice www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/...

Kiwis get 'gold medal for hazardous drinking', alcohol researcher says

New Zealanders over 50 get the gold medal for hazardous drinking when compared with eight other countries, an alcohol researcher says.

rnz.co.nz

This is super important & the research is super clear: 🔹Kiwi’s drink alot & its not normal. 🔹We experience HUGE levels of alcohol-harms in Aotearoa. 🔹Our low-risk drinking advice out of date. 🔹The #AlcoholIndustry should be excluded from the current review process. www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

NZ’s guide to low risk drinking to be reviewed

How much alcohol is too much, when it comes to health risks like cancer and is Aotearoa's official guide to low risk drinking dangerously out of date? The Health NZ guidelines are being reviewed as pa...

rnz.co.nz

Our new Article Collection "Low-Risk Drinking Advice & Public Health" is open for submissions in the journal Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine. Submissions are ongoing until 19th February 2027. Find out more by contacting Dr MK Huffman at mary.huffman@taylorandfrancis.com invt.io/1lxbicyh7an

invt.io

Tena rawa atu koe. Thank you @musicalchairs.bsky.social for this clear explanation of the context of govt surplus/deficits over past 40 years & why govt investment is so critical right now. Fantastic.

Musical Chairs@musicalchairs.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Oh, Luke, can you not see the forest for the trees? This article is like a tiki tour of the neoliberal myths and legends that still shape our discourse (and hold us back as a country). Let's have a look... [🧵 1/n]

Another excellent reminder from the team @ www.awh.org.nz that the harm’s of alcohol use aren’t just felt by the user: ⬆️ alcohol use = ⬆️ intimate partner violence We have to #RegulateAlcohol better

Public Health Communication Centre@phcc.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Alcohol is involved in 46% of male-perpetrated intimate partner homicides. Reducing availability is an evidence-based way to prevent violent victimisation. www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/sea...

Alcohol is involved in 46% of male-perpetrated intimate partner homicides. Reducing availability is an evidence-based way to prevent violent victimisation. www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/sea...

Seasonal rises in alcohol-related harm and violence against women

Alcohol’s role in intensifying violence against women in Aotearoa is outlined in this Briefing, which calls for gender-responsive, Te Tiriti-grounded alcohol harm-reduction to support safer and more e...

phcc.org.nz

Worried about how big $$ influences alcohol policy? You should be. Check out our briefing @phcc.bsky.social today that shows: ▶️ alcohol more harmful than we thought ▶️ low-risk advice needs to be reviewed ▶️ #BigAlcohol lobbying is influencing our policy makers

Public Health Communication Centre@phcc.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Researchers warn New Zealand’s review of its low-risk drinking advice is vulnerable to alcohol industry influence. Strong safeguards are needed to ensure the process reflects independent evidence. #alcoholawareness www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/rec...

urther evidence illustrating that what we thought about alcohol was wrong: ▶️ there is no health benefit from low-levels of alcohol consumption ▶️ even use at low-levels increases your chances of cognitive impairment and dementia www.thepress.co.nz/wellbeing/36...

No amount of alcohol is safe - at least for dementia risk

The finding comes from data of more than 550,000 adults ages 56 to 72, as well as genetics information from 2.4 million study participants.

thepress.co.nz

Thank you @rnzrss.bsky.social for continuing to highlight how the #AlcoholIndustry influence on our govt: ❌ cutting alcohol harm experts at HealthNZ ❌ ignoring expert panels ❌ supporting alcohol sales in our communities Health NZ cutting alcohol harm reduction staff and campaigns, union claims

"...the voices of Māori, which should have been at the forefront of the draft, have been deliberately diluted" Raawiri Ratuu rightly calls out NZ govts approach to FASD. This govts response to alcohol harm favours #alcohol industry profit over community health. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Health advisory group under fire from its own co-chair over fetal alcohol report

Officials privately expressed surprise at Raawiri Ratuu's criticisms that a new plan to tackle FASD had been weakened.

rnz.co.nz

Have heard that govt likely to cut eligibility for Total Mobility - an essential lifeline for many disabled people who cannot drive or access public transportation. Please sign this petition to parliament calling for Increased funding for Total Mobility Scheme

Petitions are addressed to the House of Representatives and ask that the House do something about a policy or law, or put right a local or private concern.

petitions.parliament.nz

“It's about profit over public health” Andrew Galloway @ AWH.org.nz is spot on. Seymour is too cozy with #Industry: • ignores decades of evidence of alcohol, smoking & gambling harm • seeks industry input on issues effecting their sales • pushes for that change www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Regulation Minister David Seymour won't rule out label changes for nicotine, tobacco, alcohol

'The problem is not the colour of the label,' David Seymour says.

rnz.co.nz

This is what happens when the #alcohol industry have access to policy makers: ▶️ rules relaxed to sell more drinks & increase harms ▶️ rules tightened to stop community & public health advocates voicing concern over increasing harms Vote for People Not for Profit www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Looser rules, digital IDs for a time when people ‘who choose to drink alcohol do so responsibly’

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says will reflect that “most New Zealanders who choose to drink alcohol do so responsibly”.

stuff.co.nz

ICYMI: Study from @uviccisur.bsky.social using data from over 147K Canadians from 2000-2017 shows alcohol has: ❌ No health benefits ⬆️ Dose-response relationship with all-cause & alcohol-related mortality Supports Canada's reduction in Low-Risk Alcohol Advice. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Alcohol consumption and mortality among Canadian drinkers: A national population‐based survival analysis (2000–2017)

Introduction Alcohol contributes significantly to global disease burden. Over 50 countries, including Canada, have established low-risk drinking guidelines to reduce alcohol-related harm. Canada's G.....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Great reporting by Guyon & colleagues @rnzrss.bsky.social The #AlcoholIndustry shouldn’t be involved in policy. They: ▶️ refute evidence of harm ▶️ avoid blame for their actions ▶️ fight approaches that would reduce harm to communities ▶️ prioritise profit over people www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Ministry of Health forced to release documents showing alcohol lobby influence

Papers reveal industry lobbying against tax hikes, restrictions on sales, and a Fetal Alcohol plan.

rnz.co.nz

Proof once more about NZ govt approach to alcohol use in AotearoaNZ: ▶️ They do not care about reducing alcohol harm in Aotearoa ▶️ They only care about protecting profit for the industry Good leadership doesn’t focus on profits over people. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Cabinet paper leak suggests Minister Nicole McKee's U-turn on alcohol sales reform

It appears ACT's Nicole McKee wanted to cut off-licence hours. But now, she's scrapped that and wants to 'focus on reducing red tape' instead.

rnz.co.nz

Thousands of internal JUUL documents reveal how tobacco companies sought to influence NZ public health policy, including supplying draft policies and talking points. Public health researchers say it's time for a formal inquiry. @janethoek.bsky.social #JUULGATE tinyurl.com/34b3z75h

#JUULGATE Nicotine industry documents highlight the need for greater transparency in public health policy

Thousands of documents released through lawsuits against vaping company JUUL raise serious questions about the influence tobacco and vaping companies have had on public health policy.

tinyurl.com

Great article by Guyon Espiner @ RNZ showing V concerning association between tobacco industry and: ▶️ NZ First leaders ▶️ NZ First party ▶️ legislation led by NZ First that supports tobacco products & profits. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Nicotine lobbyists said Winston Peters was 'very powerful' and 'very industry friendly'

Lobbyists for heated tobacco products identified the NZ First leader as "friendly". His party later delivered huge tax cuts for their products.

rnz.co.nz

Thnx @rnzrss.bsky.social team for exploring why NZ's low-risk alcohol advice needs review. Quick take: ▶️Advice is old & higher than other countries ▶️Research shows alcohol harmful at even low-levels of use ▶️Alcohol industry has no role in planning harm reduction policy www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedeta...

Booze warnings on hold

If you don't want to face the unpalatable truth about your boozing, the alcohol lobby is on your side.

rnz.co.nz

Hey @rnzrss.bsky.social 👇 Study by Clay & co @uviccisur.bsky.social shows alcohol industry-friendly ISFAR who critique alcohol-harms/health studies more likely to: ▶️ Praise studies promoting health benefits. ▶️ Criticize studies highlighting alcohol-health harms. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40632205/

The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research (ISFAR) critiques of alcohol research: Promoting health benefits and downplaying harms - PubMed

Critiques from The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research (ISFAR) consistently promote alcohol's purported health benefits while minimising evidence of harm, regardless of study quality. T...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Kia ora whanau in Aotearoa. I don’t normally do this but I’ve signed a petition to investigate the Deputy-PM over his attacks on civil servants & academics over their evidence-based & considered opposition the Regulatory Standards Bill. Link is below: our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/lu...

PM Luxon: Uphold Codes of Conduct - Call David Seymour into line

Responsible leaders welcome advice from experts when they are creating laws and policies. They know good decision making means planning for the long term, considering diverse points of view and making...

our.actionstation.org.nz

He Ara Oranga (2018) identified a national mental health and addiction (MHA) crisis in NZ. Don’t accept any political party saying that MHA is a priority when the government is actively stripping the MHA sector of funding, staffing, access, visibility and voice. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Internal documents reveal Health Ministry shake-up

“A handful of roles” will be affected by the change, the ministry confirmed.

thepost.co.nz

Alcohol cost health & social services over $9billion a year & accounts for over 5% of disability & death. Why should AotearoaNZ give the alcohol industry any influence over our alcohol policies? www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Alcohol lobbyists given input on health policies, documents reveal

Industry groups helped develop several initiatives about alcohol harm - including one on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

rnz.co.nz

Kia ora AOD whanau in Aoteara. The awesome SpeedFreaks Addiction Recovery Charity is openning up on the West Coast (South Island). We have two new roles going. Check out one of those below: www.tepou.co.nz/jobs/group-d...

Group Development Coordinator - 30 hours per week

tepou.co.nz

Worried about #AlcoholUse in those aged 50+? We trialed a #PrimaryHealthCare intervention to enhance detection of older at-risk drinkers: ▶️Used existing PHO system data ▶️Combined it with education on #OlderDrinkers Disrupted by COVID-19 but it worked. @smcnz.bsky.social doi.org/10.1071/HC24...

A mixed-methods evaluation of an intervention for enhancing alcohol screening in adults aged 50+ attending primary health care

Introduction Adults aged 50 years and over are drinking more than ever but primary health care (PHC) professionals find it challenging to screen them for alcohol-related harm, despite being at greater...

doi.org

Of course they do. The better question is “What do we do if parents can’t or don’t provide lunches?” New poll: Most voters think parents should provide school lunches

How important are NGO Mental Health & Addiction (MHA) services in Aotearoa? They: ▶️ see 41% of those seeking MHA support ▶️ yet only receive 27% of govt MHA funding ▶️ are our MHA innovation hubs ▶️ return $3.50 in benefits for every $1 invested Check it out ⬇️ www.platform.org.nz/what-we-do/n...

NGO Capability, Impact and Value - Platform Trust | Growing healthy and connected communities

platform.org.nz