Health impacts of war: case studies of New Zealand veterans of the First World War.

Aim: Armed conflict remains a tragic feature of the modern world and so it is necessary to continue to study its health impacts. Even the study of historical conflicts is relevant given that certain health impacts are common to most wars e.g.

The unseen casualties of the First World War: insights from a randomly selected military sample.

Aims: Studies of the morbidity burden of military personnel participating in the First World War (WWI) have tended to focus on specific outcomes (e.g., injuries).

COVID-19: Acing the Treatment.

Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 is the functional receptor that the SARS-Cov-2 virus requires to enter cells and cause dysregulated inflammatory conditions that contribute towards acute lung injuries. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system with its physiological surveillance and regulation system can be implicated in both harm and therapeutic benefit. The initial observational studies suggesting the discontinuation of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers have been firmly rebutted by international societies.

A survey of the smokefree status of pedestrian-only spaces in 10 New Zealand local government areas.

Aim: To describe the smokefree status and signage of outdoor pedestrian-only plazas/malls/boulevards in 10 New Zealand local government (council) areas.

Methods: The 10 council areas were a convenience sample. Council websites were examined for smokefree policies, and a systematic attempt was made to identify the five largest pedestrian-only sites with permanent seating in each council area (10 sites each for two larger cities).

Deficient handwashing amenities in public toilets in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-regional survey.

Aims: To identify the extent of the provision of handwashing amenities in public toilets at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and also to make comparisons with a related pre-pandemic survey.

Methods: We collected data from 400 toilet facilities that were open to the public: all those in three contiguous city council territories (228) and a further convenience sample of 172 around other parts of New Zealand. Comparisons were made with the data on the same facilities included in a 2012/2013 survey.

The epidemiology of attacks on statues: New Zealand as a case study.

Objectives: We aimed to describe the epidemiology of statue attacks along with statue representativeness relative to modern day demographics in one case study country: New Zealand.

Methods: We performed Internet searches for the existence of outdoor statues of named individuals and historical attacks in New Zealand (NZ), combined a national survey with field visits to all identified statues to examine for injuries and repairs.

Results: Of the 123 statues identified, nearly a quarter (n = 28, 23%) had been attacked at least once (total of 45 separate attack events), with the number of attacks increasing from the 1990s.

Health impacts for New Zealand military personnel from the South African War of 1899-1902.

Aim: We aimed to update and provide more complete epidemiological information on the health impacts of the South African War on New Zealand military personnel.

Methods: Mortality datasets were identified and analysed. Systematic searches were conducted to identify additional war-attributable deaths in the post-war period.

Smoke-free cars legislation: it works but New Zealand should still rigorously evaluate its upcoming law.

In this viewpoint we briefly review the evidence for smoke-free car legislation. We find that this legislation has been consistently associated with reduced secondhand exposure in cars with children/youth in all nine jurisdictions studied. Despite this, there are various aspects of this intervention that warrant further study-especially determining its impact on reducing tobacco-related ethnic inequalities.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection among healthcare workers - What is the evidence?

Background: The worldwide outbreak of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has already put healthcare workers (HCWs) at a high risk of infection. The question of how to give HCWs the best protection against infection is a priority.

Methods: We searched systematic reviews and original studies in Medline (via Ovid) and Chinese Wan Fang digital database from inception to May, 2020, using terms 'coronavirus', 'health personnel', and 'personal protective equipment' to find evidence about the use of full-body PPEs and other PPEs by HCW exposed highly infectious diseases.

Poor smoke-free status of airports in a country with a smoke-free goal: New Zealand.

Background: To survey the smoke-free status of airports in New Zealand (NZ), a country with a smoke-free goal for 2025, and where public indoor areas are required to be smoke-free.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of airports with data collection on smoke-free signage, observed smoking behaviour, cigarette butt litter and designated smoking areas.

Results: A total of 23 airports were surveyed, including all those for the 10 most populous urban areas in NZ (82% of all airports with scheduled flights on the main islands).

The long-term supply of tobacco and nicotine: some goals, principles and policy implications.

There is a growing literature on regulating the supply of tobacco products to achieve tobacco-free goals. This article suggests three goals and eight principles that could underpin regulatory approaches to the supply of tobacco and non-prescription nicotine products. The primary principles are that tobacco and nicotine products should not be seen as normal consumer products, should not be supplied for profit, and that the tax revenue from the supply of the products should first be used to reduce tobacco and nicotine use.

Electronic cigarette online marketing by New Zealand vendors.

Aims: To examine the characteristics of the online marketing environment and the presence of safeguards to protect children from e-cigarette (ENDS) experimentation and uptake in New Zealand.

Methods: The search engine 'Google Chrome' was used to identify New Zealand vendor websites, Facebook and Twitter accounts. 'YouTube NZ' was searched for videos related to ENDS.

Tobacco pack display at hospitality venues after the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging in New Zealand: a field observation study.

Objectives: In March 2018, New Zealand (NZ) introduced standardised tobacco packaging that also featured new pictorial warnings, with implementation completed by early June 2018. We evaluated how the new packaging affected tobacco pack displays in outdoor areas of hospitality venues.

Design: Before-and-after descriptive field observation study.

Descriptive Epidemiology of New Zealand's Highest Mortality Earthquake: Hawke's Bay in 1931.

In this study we aimed to produce the first detailed analysis of the epidemiology of the severe injury and mortality impacts of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake in New Zealand (NZ). This involved the compilation and analysis of archival data (hospitalisations and deaths) including the examination of 324 death certificates. We found that there were 662 people for whom some hospitalisation data were available at four weeks post-earthquake: 54% were still in hospital, 4% were still classified as "serious", and 5% had died (n = 28).