I blame the feral response to National’s announcement – that they will not be dropping the legal blood alcohol limit to 0.05 g% – squarely on the media. I am certain that it is the media’s propensity always to give the maximum amount of airtime and newsprint to the most hysterical over-reaction that encourages people [...]

Found this in my e-mail today Hi Jim, I remember reading a while ago that you thought a medical ratings website might be a good idea. Well found this on trademe forum the other day, looks like its going to be a reality? http://www.medrate.co.nz Thanks Steve Sadly for Steve, I am generally not that much in favour of medical [...]

In a move that defies all logic, the FDA advisory panel investigating the contamination of Rotavirus vaccine with pig virus has recommended that vaccine use be continued because “The vaccines offer a clear public health benefit that far outweighs a “theoretical” risk from PCV (Porcine Circo-virus)”. How very reassuring. Not. PCV type 1 was found [...]

Australia’s chief medical officer, Jim Bishop has announced that children under five years old should not receive the flu vaccine. Apparently at least 60 children under the age of 5 have had high fevers and 23 have had convulsions shortly after receiving the vaccine. I have not heard any advisory from the New Zealand authorities [...]

Yesterday Steven Joyce finally announced he was raising the driving age. Unfortunately, he is only raising it to a timid 16 years. Still, at least we won’t have the lowest driving age in the developed world and one of the highest youth fatality rates. I find it hard to believe that there is so much [...]

What is it with the media’s obsession with the death toll on the road over Easter? Black Easter claims nine Black Easter? How is this Easter any more dark than any other? Thousands have taken to the roads over the weekend. The laws of statistics have reared their ugly head and we have had our [...]

Not satisfied with rendering cold and flu medicines ineffective by removing pseudoephedrine from general sale, Medsafe continues it’s onslaught on cold and flu meds by trying to remove all the syrups and infusions from supermarket shelves. Apparently they are concerned about the use of them in under sixes (despite the fact that fatalities are very [...]

Suppose a German Shepherd had just killed his police handler by mauling him in an unprovoked attack? This dog has a history of previously mauling the dead body of a drunk who fell into the dog’s pen and broke his neck. The same dog had also been involved in the death of another police handler, [...]

Back from South Africa, anyway. Jet lagged out of my gourd as well. After a decade away (15 years since emigrating), South Africa now feels like a foreign land to me. The South African government claims that crime has dropped since the Apartheid years but I doubt very much that that is true. Absolutely everyone [...]

An Australian forensic pathologist, Professor Roger Byard, wades into the herbal remedy debate with the dire warning Herbal remedies can kill. This is rather over the top, even for an aussie. Sure, there have been fatalities from herbal remedies, especially some of the Chinese ones that contain things that are suspiciously non-herbal. But you can [...]