Lay epidemiology and COVID-19
Was the COVID-19 virus moving around the world in late 2019? And did we actually already have that information, but lacked the collective framework to make lay epidemiology coherent? In terms of seeding and propagating the COVID-19 virus within the...
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Chubby Boozers with Ageing Hearts
What will the person in the street make of recent public health scare tactics? As the politics of austerity continues to bite into NHS and other public budgets, Britain’s top health promotion brains have decided that precious future health resources...
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You can’t wear a bag on your head: air pollution
Air pollution is often in the news as pollution episodes are reported in major cities in China and India. In London too, it is in the sights of the new(ish) mayor, who is calling for extra charges on polluting vehicles...
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Room for improvement?
A couple of weeks ago Sasha Scambler wrote on this blog about public health interest in digital devices and the launch of a free ‘sugar app’ in the UK in time for the season of new resolutions. The app uses...
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2015: Time for politicians to make a healthy New Year’s resolution
It’s that time of year. Millions of British people resolve to change. Quit smoking. Eat better. Exercise more. Drink less. Breaking a New Year’s resolution is as much a British tradition as making one though. So what can we learn...
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Statins and their side effects
Statins were the 20th century ‘blockbuster’ drug. Almost everyone could benefit from turning a Euro-American cholesterol into a Japanese one according to their supporters … And now they are off-patent, statins look better and better value to those seeing health...
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Lazing on a sunny afternoon? A historical perspective on risk and sunlight
As we emerge from the wettest winter on record most of us are looking forward to the summer and the chance to maybe get out into some sunlight. The pleasures associated with lying on a beach, going for a bike...
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Culturally appropriate health promotion, or cynical marketing ploy? Australia’s storm in a beer glass
Drinkwise Australia is one of those industry-funded bodies that does the corporate responsibility bit. In their case the big aim is to transform Australian drinking culture by championing the cause of moderation and so reduce harmful consumption patterns. “Yeah… and...
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The English school food plan needs a few more ingredients
Schools are a key battleground for public health professionals and policy-makers trying to improve young people’s diet in the UK and internationally. The Department for Education recently released a new English School Food Plan (SFP) which was produced by the founders...
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We’re all doomed! – What happens when normality is so dangerous that it might kill you?
When driving through the town of Omagh the other day I found myself (somewhat unsuccessfully!) trying to quote the great Ulrich Beck from memory. We had just driven past a health promotion poster showing the midriff of a man wearing...
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“Processed meat” – it is advisable to engage brain before opening mouth
When the number crunchers at the EPIC project noticed a significant statistical association between processed meat consumption and premature death, someone involved thought it was a good idea to go public. And what better way to draw their findings to...
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Why Public Health Initiatives & Legislation Need to Engage with Fat Food Justice