Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
It always perplexed me to see such advertising growing up. Like I understand, on one hand, informing the public on options to access remedies for their pain is important, but is it being communicated in the best way, especially considering that other nations don’t follow this approach.
This interview with University of Auckland Pathophysiology Professor David Menkes is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand
Joe speaks to Kurt Krause, a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, about NZ’s first case of Monkeypox. He also speaks to Max Rashbrooke, a Research Associate for the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, about political donation regulation and the motivation behind it.
Trishil speaks to Professor David Menkes, Consumer NZ Research and Test Writer Belinda Castles, Health Minister Andrew Little, Royal NZ College of GPs Medical Director Dr Bryan Betty, and National Health Spokesperson Dr Shane Reti about Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand, and whether the practise should be banned.
And for this weeks Tomorrow’s World, Isla and Stella spoke to Dr Emma Sharp from the University of Auckland about her projects with Soilsafe Aotearoa.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Government reviews of the Therapeutic Products Bill have previously taken place in 1998, 2000, 2006, and 2019. All of these reviews have kept the status quo. In 2006, Dr Annette King, the Health Minister, called for a ban, but struggled to muster the support at the time.
This interview with Health Minister Andrew Little is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
The question of banning pharmaceutical advertising in New Zealand isn’t new. In 2019, there were renewed calls for the Therapeutic Medicines Bill to be toughened with these measures being driven by..
At the time, a Consumer New Zealand survey indicated that 57% of kiwis favour an independent health info service that provides advice on treatment options over medicine advertising.
Those stats also reveal that 8% of those surveyed believed that said ads provided unbiased and comprehensive information about treatments.
And 15% of surveyors also said a ban is unnecessary.
This interview with Consumer NZ Research and Test Writer Belinda Castles is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand
New Zealand has just become one of more than 50 countries to record cases of monkeypox in an outbreak that took off two months ago.
The person, who is in isolation, is in their thirties, lives in Auckland and recently returned from overseas travel in a country with reported monkeypox cases. The Ministry of Health sys there is no evidence of community transmission, with a small number of people being contacts.
Joe spoke to Kurt Krause, a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, on the matter.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Dr Shane Reti, National Health Spokesperson, mentioned that it is up to caucus to ultimately make a decision should a consultation arises.
This interview with National Party Health Spokesperson Dr Shane Reti is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Even medical bodies such as the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners have strongly come out in the past backing such a ban.
This interview with Royal NZ College of GP Medical Director Bryan Betty is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand.
What's hiding in your soil? This week Stella and Isla work through a written interview with Dr Emma Sharp about the work of Soilsafe Aoteroa. Chatting metal contaminants and citizen science.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Until a couple of years ago, I was unaware of the ban on Pharmaceutical advertising outside of New Zealand and the US. Whenever the side effects of a particular ad popped up, despite not being the target audience for said drug, it always filled me with a sense of existential dread. New Zealand ads typically display side effects in small black text to the bottom of the screen and are never discussed by the advertiser, making it easy to miss.
This piece seeks to investigate how direct to consumer advertising works, and whether the practice should be banned in New Zealand.
Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.
Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.
As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.
Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”
And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Recently the Green Party commissioned independent legal advice to look into the government’s $200 million investment in new gas fields that was carried out last month and found out that the investment was in breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement, which would prevent hapū from negotiating separate commercial redresses and remove any reference to hapū sovereignty from the settlement terms.
And the Green party recently issued a call to the New Zealand government to condemn the US strikes on Iranian Nuclear facilities, almost a week after Iran and Israel had both been trading missile strikes between each other.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon to get the party’s take on all of these issues
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the nationwide census moving forward. The census is the largest statistical survey done in Aotearoa, and provides the bulk of population data used in research and decision-making. Reti says the census is “no longer financially viable” and will be replaced with a combination of smaller annual surveys and administrative data.
While the change looks good on paper, there are concerns around how the change in data collection could affect representation of marginalised and minority groups. Census data tends to be more protected from bias than administrative data and smaller surveys, meaning there are more opportunities for misrepresentation. Some statisticians are particularly concerned about the potential exclusion of marginalised rural communities.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked him about the census decision and its implications on marginalised and minority groups.
Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.
Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.
They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.
Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.
But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 protests took place across all 50 American States against President Donald Trump.
The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, and they served as a direct response to the military parade in Washington, DC.
The organisers of the protests say they aimed to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jeremy Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut about the protests and the backlash towards them from the Trump administration.
Housing intensification is a key priority for Auckland Council as Auckland's population is forecast to reach 2.3 million by 2050.
But as planning for growth continues, some Auckland residents have expressed concern about the approval of developments in areas on flood plains or particularly prone to natural disasters.
With Kāinga Ora selling homes as ‘high risk investments’ in areas which were impacted by flooding in recent years, and 15 percent of all granted consents for new builds by Auckland Council being on floodplains, I spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how the council is taking into account these issues for the coming years.
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