NZ Climate Change Commission calls out Government inaction and cutting polices to combat climate change; argues current emissions target is at significant risk and the subsequent one will not be met with current plans and policies. www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...

New Zealand now at risk of missing all its climate targets, Climate Commission warns

New Zealand is at risk of missing all of its climate targets, and time to get back on track is running out, the Climate Change Commission says.

rnz.co.nz

National survey data shows substantial falls in smoking prevalence in Australia. Excellent news for health and well-being. 2030 target of <5% now within reach. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Smoking rates fall to historic low across Australia despite the rise of illicit tobacco

Long-running AIHW survey shows daily rates of smoking dropped to 5.6% last year – down from 8.3% two years ago

theguardian.com

An important reality check on Philip Morris's calls for a seat at the table in EU tobacco policy discussions, given their so-called "profound transformation" tinyurl.com/mp85szfh. Our analysis of how that transformation just isn't happening: tinyurl.com/2wve582p @predwards.bsky.social

Philip Morris urges von der Leyen to include tobacco sector in EU competitiveness debate

Philip Morris International (PMI) has called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to engage in a fair, transparent and science-based dialogue with the tobacco and nicotine industry as...

tinyurl.com

No, Big #Tobacco has NOT "transformed," new analysis finds, putting to rest the naive idea: tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/earl... @predwards.bsky.social @janethoek.bsky.social @bmjtobacco-control.bsky.social

PMI’s 2025 results for cigarette shipments debunk ‘smoke-free world’ rhetoric

Some multinational tobacco companies claim they are ‘transforming’ by adopting harm reduction goals or, in the case of Philip Morris International (PMI), declaring a commitment to a ‘smoke-free’ futur...

tobaccocontrol.bmj.com

Great (i.e. chilling) quote from Fredericke Otto in this report on Red weather heat warning in the UK. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Met Office issues rare red weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday

UK Health Security Agency also issues red heat alert for six English regions, indicating risk to life even for the healthy

theguardian.com

Philip Morris International's data reveal it is dismally failing to 'unsmoke the world'. Decline in shipments of smoked tobacco products was minimal from 2020-2025 & key target missed by a wide margin. @janethoek.bsky.social @bmjtobacco-control.bsky.social tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/toba...

Listen to CEO of Australian Council on Smokinh & Health Laura Hunter. A superb analysis of the current self-serving efforts of British American Tobacco to spin the innumerate narrative of a 50% tobacco tax cut www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Public health expert rejects calls to cut tobacco excise - ABC listen

Public health leaders say the tobacco industry is using the illicit tobacco crisis to call for tax cuts on their products.

abc.net.au

NZ must spend on climate adaptation to save on disaster recovery – Expert Reaction

NZ must spend on climate adaptation to save on disaster recovery - Expert Reaction - Science Media Centre

The latest national climate change risk assessment says the costs of repeated disasters will make it harder to pay for core needs like health and education.  The report points out 10 key areas on which...

sciencemediacentre.co.nz

Good morning! The Climate Change Commission has just released the first National Climate Change Risk Assessment in six years – and I've read the key document. In short: Climate change is here, we're not ready, but there's lots we can do to prepare. For more: newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/07/l...

Landmark report finds climate harming NZ now, will worsen with inaction

A major new report on the risks climate change poses to New Zealand has found targeted action now could avert the worst impacts, Marc Daalder reports

newsroom.co.nz

Excellent article by Becky Freeman. And disgraceful that some politicians still seem to give lethal tobacco companies special, favourable treatment.

Simon Chapman AO@simonchapman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Donations, access and secrecy: 3 tactics tobacco companies use to influence smoking laws. This sort of access is standard procedure in corrupt & basket case nations, now appearing in Australia at behest of politicians whose names you've never heard theconversation.com/donations-ac...

This is exactly why language matters: “women were given the vote” frames equality as a gift from men, instead of hard won political power extracted through organized resistance. Nobody gave women anything. Women fought, marched, strategized, endured violence, went to prison and died for it.

✨ Professor Jacqueline Bowden worked on a study analysing alcohol products, finding that 35% displayed “better for you” claims (e.g. low sugar, low alcohol). The study highlights the need for stronger policies to restrict misleading claims on alcohol products. 📄 doi.org/10.1111/dar....

History is made by those who show up, and that is exactly what's happening in Santa Marta. There are 60 countries here, academics from all over the world, Indigenous people, civil society, all here to do one thing: figure out how to phase out fossil fuels. www.forbes.com/sites/we-don...

Fossil Fuel Phaseout Talks Begin With Half The Global Economy

The world’s first fossil fuel phaseout conference gathers 57 countries representing over 50% of global GDP, signaling a major shift in climate policy, energy security and global markets.

forbes.com

Australia’s proposed gambling reforms create the appearance of action, while leaving the drivers of harm intact. Partial ad bans don’t work. They protect the status quo. academic.oup.com/heapro/artic...

Australia’s proposed gambling reforms may be good for industry, but not for public health

Gambling industry harms are a major global public health concern (Van Schalkwyk et al. 2021, Thomas et al. 2023a, Cowlishaw et al. 2025). They contribute t

academic.oup.com

Proposed changes to alcohol laws in Aotearoa New Zealand would increase availability and limit community input, contributing to greater harm and inequities. Evidence shows more access leads to more harm. @AlcHealthwatch www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/unp...

Unpicking alcohol protections: New Bill set to increase harm and reduce public voice

Proposed changes to alcohol laws in Aotearoa New Zealand will increase availability and restrict community input, leading to greater alcohol-related harm and inequities.

phcc.org.nz

Death rates for cervical cancer in the United Kingdom have fallen by 80% since 1950— Cervical cancer death rates among women in the United Kingdom have fallen by around 80% since 1950. You can see this reduction in the chart. This progress happened for a couple of key reasons.

‘Independent’ group Energy for Australians that ran anti-Labor ads received more than $1m from coal lobby

‘Independent’ group Energy for Australians that ran anti-Labor ads received more than $1m from coal lobby

Coal Australia denies its donations to the ‘community-driven association’ amount to astroturfing, but critics accuse the group of misleading the public * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An “independent, community-driven association” that ran anti-Labor adverts during the last federal election was entirely funded by a coal industry lobby group, the Guardian can reveal. Energy for Australians accepted more than $1m from Coal Australia – a group advocating for coal whose members include major miners Yancoal, Peabody, New Hope and Whitehaven. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Notice anything?

Zoe Daniel: renewables experts and advocates need to seize the moment. ".... US president has fractured decades of concerted lobbying, misinformation and disinformation, underpinned by a fortune in funding, to shore up the fossil fuel industry. Clean energy, you have an open lane. Take the gap"

Guardian Australia@australia.theguardian.com · 4mo ago

In the middle of a fossil fuel crisis, it’s time to shout the clean energy message loud and clear | Zoe Daniel

In the middle of a fossil fuel crisis, it’s time to shout the clean energy message loud and clear | Zoe Daniel

In the middle of a fossil fuel crisis, it’s time to shout the clean energy message loud and clear | Zoe Daniel

The case for renewables is clear. Every extra EV on an Australian road is litres of petrol saved, every home battery means less gas used and a more resilient electricity grid * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Dear clean energy industry, this is your moment. Cease your frowning at the roadblocks that have been put in your way. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

TOBACCO ENDGAME - Using lessons from the UK experience to develop a knowledge toolkit for tobacco control. @asthmaandlung.org.uk #FCTCCOP11 #COP11 www.ersnet.org/wp-content/u... @ash.org @ashorguk.bsky.social @whofctc.bsky.social #LungSky #RespEd

Good analysis and comments from David Pocock who, along with some other MPs, has consistently argued for evidence-based policies that won't please the gambling industry, but will make a difference to the harms their products cause.

Prof Samantha Thomas@docsamantha.bsky.social · 4mo ago

“What the Albanese government is proposing is not evidence-based, and it will not reverse the normalisation of gambling among young people” Excellent from @davidpocock.bsky.social #auspol www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

'Small and underwhelming' gambling advertising reforms in Australia. "Without a comprehensive approach, including a national regulator to set the rules, these reforms risk creating an illusion of action." theconversation.com/small-and-un...

‘Small and underwhelming’: Albanese’s gambling reforms won’t do much to reduce harm

Anthony Albanese’s new gambling reforms promise much but are really a cautious, politically palatable compromise.

theconversation.com

@punkrockhistory.bsky.social Not your fault...put it on fuckin' inPotus and those idiots who support him. youtu.be/JYYKHEr4kuc?... #RudeBoysDoItBetter

The Clash- I’m So Bored With The U.S.A- 5/28/1983

YouTube video by Jeremy Leafey

youtu.be

Analysis of US tobacco industry contradicts claims they are 'transitioning' to less harmful products: ".... market reality shows that cigarette marketing expenditures have not been reduced & are continuing to target older, low-income adults who smoke." tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/earl...

Marketing expenditures and industry transformation: are cigarette companies really shifting away from cigarettes?

Introduction Cigarette companies have stated their intent to transition from selling cigarettes to selling less harmful products, such as e-cigarettes. We examine trends in US cigarette marketing expe...

tobaccocontrol.bmj.com

Bruce Springsteen. #NoKings

Sobering read. | Every Country in Our Supply Chain Has Declared an Emergency. NZ just launched an Ad Campaign. energyandresilience.substack.com/p/every-coun... #nzpol

Every Country in Our Supply Chain Has Declared an Emergency. NZ just launched an Ad Campaign.

What the ministerial press conference got wrong about NZ's fuel supply, and what it didn't mention at all.

energyandresilience.substack.com

New alcohol reforms in Aotearoa NZ loosen controls over supply and give alcohol industry its 'wish list' say Alcohol Healthwatch. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Communities push back against proposed alcohol reforms

The government says it wants to reduce red tape, make it easier for businesses to obtain licences, and trust adults to make their own choices.

rnz.co.nz

Today marks 1,000 days since the Murphy report into online gambling was delivered to government. The report contained 31 recommendations, including a ban on gambling ads and inducements and the creation of a national gambling regulator. The Albanese Government has not yet responded to the report.

Me, musing aloud about what we (the people) can do in a crisis, while we wait to hear what we (the government of Aotearoa) might do. Come for the practical examples; stay for the shameless e-bike boosterism/ classic Pulp earworm/ adorable art/ Long Covid solidarity/ Bill & Ted Easter egg, etc. 🤘⚡️🎸🪺

Greater Auckland@greaterauckland.bsky.social · 5mo ago

What can we do? Or rather, what we CAN do! @nzdodo.bsky.social seeks inspiration on ground-level responses to the fuel crisis: www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/03/24/w... (A book-end to last week's post by @patrickreynolds.bsky.social on government actions www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/03/16/w...)