The NSW Government is establishing something of a reputation for ‘backflipping’ on measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, most recently the omicron variant, which has rocketed ahead in the state.
Two days before Christmas, with testing queues longer than those at the Sydney seafood market – or along the fish-shop road into Ballina – Premier Dominic Perrottet decreed the introduction of mandatory indoor mask wearing, QR code check-in and social distancing from midnight at the start of Christmas Eve.
The mandate applies to all retail and entertainment / dining premises, except when seated patrons are actually eating or drinking – a great deal of which will presumably be undertaken over the coming days. On the upside, masks will not need to be worn when socialising in private premises, although various medical experts suggest this would be advisable as well.
Melanoma is often referred to as “Australia’s national cancer”, with the nation recognised as having the highest incidence of non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer in the world. One in three Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70, and those residing in Northern NSW and Queensland face the highest risk of developing melanoma.
Surfing and swimming are two popular recreational activities in Australia, with an estimated 2.7 million surfers and three million swimmers nationwide. These activities are associated with prolonged intermittent exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which is recognised as a causal mechanism in the development of pre-cancerous skin cancers (actinic keratosis), non-melanoma (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma in situ) and melanoma skin cancer.
Southern Cross University's Aquatic Based Research Unit recently completed the first in its series of studies on skin cancer in aquatic enthusiasts. We conducted whole-body skin checks on surfers and swimmers in South-East Queensland and Northern NSW and found despite very high usage of chemical or physical sun protection strategies (100% and 92%, respectively) that 50% of the surfers and 27% of the swimmers were identified with at least a single skin cancer.
Written by Associate /Prof Mike Climstein, Dr Nedeljka Rosic, A/Prof Michael Stapelberg
In journalism a ‘puff piece’ is a weightless story praising a person or business and ignoring, or even covering up, any flaws they may possess. While John Safran’s latest book certainly focuses on a brand name – the words Philip Morris appear on almost every page – the result is anything but an enhancement of the cigarette manufacturer’s reputation.
As he makes this clear from the outset, the company’s history of deceit is long and harmful, the latest example being its response to the European Parliament’s ban in May 2020 of menthol cigarettes.
