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.

Kia ora Robin. Thank you for being you and championing kindness and compassion, particularly for those whose voices are being drowned out by hate and prejudice.

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

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...

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...

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

Tena rawa atu koe for your leadership in this space both in the research and advocacy. Your ability to provides facts when the govt outright lies is desperately needed.

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.

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...

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

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.

"...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...

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.

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

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.

“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...

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”.

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...

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.....

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....

Aroha mai. You ate correct. Deny, not refute.

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.

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...

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.

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...

#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.

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

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.

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...

Great article in @thespinoff.bsky.social by Steve Randerson @ Massey University explains why it’s time for Aotearoa to stop the alcohol industry having any influence over health policy.

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

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...

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...

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/

Thank you Eddie for using your expertise, passion & perseverance both to explain to the country the rest of us what the key issues are with RSB as well as fronting that with a public submission.

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...

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...

Internal documents reveal Health Ministry shake-up “A handful of roles” will be affected by the change, the ministry confirmed.

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...

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.

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...

Group Development Coordinator - 30 hours per week

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...

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...

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...

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

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

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...