Eat, drink and gamble: marketing messages about \u27risky\u27 products in an Australian major sporting series

BACKGROUND: To investigate the alcohol, gambling, and unhealthy food marketing strategies during a nationally televised, free to air, sporting series in Australia. METHODS/APPROACH: Using the Australian National Rugby League 2012 State of Origin three-game series, we conducted a mixed methods content analysis of the frequency, duration, placement and content of advertising strategies, comparing these strategies both within and across the three games. RESULTS: There were a total of 4445 episodes (mean = 1481.67, SD = 336.58), and 233.23 minutes (mean = 77.74, SD = 7.31) of marketing for alcoholic beverages, gambling products and unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages during the 360 minutes of televised coverage of the three State of Origin 2012 games. This included an average per game of 1354 episodes (SD = 368.79) and 66.29 minutes (SD = 7.62) of alcohol marketing; 110.67 episodes (SD = 43.89), and 8.72 minutes (SD = 1.29) of gambling marketing; and 17 episodes (SD = 7.55), and 2.74 minutes (SD = 0.78) of unhealthy food and beverage marketing. Content analysis revealed that there was a considerable embedding of product marketing within the match play, including within match commentary, sporting equipment, and special replays. CONCLUSIONS: Sport is increasingly used as a vehicle for the promotion of range of \u27risky consumption\u27 products. This study raises important ethical and health policy questions about the extent and impact of saturation and incidental marketing strategies on health and wellbeing, the transparency of embedded marketing strategies, and how these strategies may influence product consumption

Plain Tobacco Packaging: A Systematic Review

(From the Executive Summary): This systematic review outlines findings from 37 studies that provide evidence of the impacts of plain tobacco packaging. The review was conducted following the publication of the March 2011 White Paper Healthy Lives: Healthy People which set out a renewed Tobacco Control Plan for England. One of the key actions identified in the plan was to consult on possible options to reduce the promotional impact of tobacco packaging, including plain packaging. This systematic review was commissioned to provide a comprehensive overview of evidence on the impact of plain packaging in order to inform a public consultation on the issue

Support for UNRWA's survival

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides life-saving humanitarian aid for 5·4 million Palestine refugees now entering their eighth decade of statelessness and conflict. About a third of Palestine refugees still live in 58 recognised camps. UNRWA operates 702 schools and 144 health centres, some of which are affected by the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It has dramatically reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases, mortality, and illiteracy. Its social services include rebuilding infrastructure and homes that have been destroyed by conflict and providing cash assistance and micro-finance loans for Palestinians whose rights are curtailed and who are denied the right of return to their homeland

Crizotinib Associated Renal Cysts [CARCs]: incidence and patterns of evolution

BACKGROUND: Novel therapeutic agents recently introduced for the treatment of cancer have several unusual side effects. An increased incidence of renal cystic lesions, often with features concerning for malignancy or infection, has been reported in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) - rearranged advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with Crizotinib. Many of these lesions undergo spontaneous resolution despite developing complex features on imaging. We assess the incidence and patterns of evolution of Crizotinib Associated Renal Cysts [CARCs] at our institute and provide histopathology correlation of their benign nature. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of renal lesions in computerised tomography (CT) scans of 35 patients with advanced ALK-rearranged NSCLC who had been prescribed crizotinib at our institution was performed by three radiologists, who analysed the evolution of these lesions, particularly for pre-defined significant and complex changes. RESULTS: Of 26 patients eligible for this analysis, 4 (15%) had cysts at baseline that remained stable on crizotinib treatment while 11(42%) developed significant change in 28 renal cysts. Commonest pattern of cyst evolution was enlargement from baseline followed by spontaneous regression (17/28 lesions) while other patterns noted were stable lesions, regression from baseline and ongoing enlargement. The median maximum size reached was 23 mm (range 9 - 67 mm) after a median of 178 days (160 to 1342) on crizotinib. Complex change occurred in 12 cysts, in 7/26 (27%) patients and within 60 days of starting Crizotinib in 10 cysts. Imaging features were falsely concerning for malignancy or abscess in 4/26 patients. CONCLUSION: Most CARCs resolve spontaneously, or have a benign evolution despite enlargement and other features concerning for malignancy or infection on imaging. This unusual manifestation of chemotherapy should be recognised, particularly by radiologists, so that inappropriate treatment decisions are avoided

Is consumer response to plain/standardised tobacco packaging consistent with framework convention on tobacco control guidelines?:A systematic review of quantitative studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Standardised or 'plain' tobacco packaging was introduced in Australia in December 2012 and is currently being considered in other countries. The primary objective of this systematic review was to locate, assess and synthesise published and grey literature relating to the potential impacts of standardised tobacco packaging as proposed by the guidelines for the international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: reduced appeal, increased salience and effectiveness of health warnings, and more accurate perceptions of product strength and harm. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched and researchers in the field were contacted to identify studies. Eligible studies were published or unpublished primary research of any design, issued since 1980 and concerning tobacco packaging. Twenty-five quantitative studies reported relevant outcomes and met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS: Studies that explored the impact of package design on appeal consistently found that standardised packaging reduced the appeal of cigarettes and smoking, and was associated with perceived lower quality, poorer taste and less desirable smoker identities. Although findings were mixed, standardised packs tended to increase the salience and effectiveness of health warnings in terms of recall, attention, believability and seriousness, with effects being mediated by the warning size, type and position on pack. Pack colour was found to influence perceptions of product harm and strength, with darker coloured standardised packs generally perceived as containing stronger tasting and more harmful cigarettes than fully branded packs; lighter coloured standardised packs suggested weaker and less harmful cigarettes. Findings were largely consistent, irrespective of location and sample. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence strongly suggests that standardised packaging will reduce the appeal of packaging and of smoking in general; that it will go some way to reduce consumer misperceptions regarding product harm based upon package design; and will help make the legally required on-pack health warnings more salient

Roadmap to recovery: reporting on a research taskforce supporting Indigenous responses to COVID-19 in Australia

In April 2020 a Group of Eight Taskforce was convened, consisting of over 100 researchers, to provide independent, research-based recommendations to the Commonwealth Government on a "Roadmap to Recovery" from COVID-19. The report covered issues ranging from pandemic control and relaxation of social distancing measures, to well-being and special considerations for vulnerable populations. Our work focused on the critical needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; this paper presents an overview of our recommendations to the Roadmap report. In addressing the global challenges posed by pandemics for citizens around the world, Indigenous people are recognised as highly vulnerable. At the time of writing Australia's First Nations Peoples have been largely spared from COVID-19 in comparison to other Indigenous populations globally. Our recommendations emphasise self-determination and equitable needs-based funding to support Indigenous communities to recover from COVID-19, addressing persistent overcrowded housing, and a focus on workforce, especially for regional and remote communities. These latter two issues have been highlighted as major issues of risk for Indigenous communities in Australia It remains to be seen how governments across Australia take up these recommendations to support Indigenous peoples' health and healing journey through yet another, potentially catastrophic, health crisis

Roadmap to recovery: reporting on a research taskforce supporting Indigenous responses to COVID-19 in Australia

In April 2020 a Group of Eight Taskforce was convened, consisting of over 100 researchers, to provide independent, research-based recommendations to the Commonwealth Government on a “Roadmap to Recovery” from COVID-19. The report covered issues ranging from pandemic control and relaxation of social distancing measures, to well-being and special considerations for vulnerable populations. Our work focused on the critical needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; this paper presents an overview of our recommendations to the Roadmap report. In addressing the global challenges posed by pandemics for citizens around the world, Indigenous people are recognised as highly vulnerable. At the time of writing Australia's First Nations Peoples have been largely spared from COVID-19 in comparison to other Indigenous populations globally. Our recommendations emphasise self-determination and equitable needs-based funding to support Indigenous communities to recover from COVID-19, addressing persistent overcrowded housing, and a focus on workforce, especially for regional and remote communities. These latter two issues have been highlighted as major issues of risk for Indigenous communities in Australia It remains to be seen how governments across Australia take up these recommendations to support Indigenous peoples' health and healing journey through yet another, potentially catastrophic, health crisis