Updates archive

Professor Antonia Lyons, along with researchers from Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University, have developed a research resource based on their work exploring alcohol within the lives of midlife adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research used a...

How digital marketing of legal but harmful products escalates health threats to the most vulnerable Read more here.

The Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan was launched on Thursday 9 December 2021 and is something all New Zealanders should be proud of. CFAR members have undertaken research to inform the development of some of the planned policy initiatives, and have been active in...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/09/new-zealand-to-ban-smoking-for-next-generation-in-bid-to-outlaw-habit-by-2025 https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2112/S00029/smoking-to-be-outlawed-for-future-generations-expert-reaction.htm Research from CFAR members which...

We do science with the goal of helping people and society, but the science investigating the harms of illicit drugs has not always had a beneficial effect. In Joe’s presentation he reviewed some of our errors in scientific reasoning and understanding that have...

A ‘health based approach to drugs’ is often referred to as an alternative to criminalising those who use illicit drugs. While this approach is welcomed by many, there are barriers to fully considering this approach based in stigmatising tropes about people who use...

New Zealand Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm (Pākehā/Ngāi Tahu) talked about the role of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, its history and goals. Sarah has worked at the forefront of change on health, youth, social and environmental issues. She has worked...

CFAR member, Professor Peter Adams has recently presented, in the journal ‘Addiction’ a theoretical model outlining the influence of the cannabis industry on the New Zealand regulatory environment.  To read more click here

CFAR members have recently published on the topic of addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Farhoudian Ali,…Galea-Singer S,…. Razaghi E. COVID-19 and Substance Use Disorders: Recommendations to a Comprehensive Healthcare Response. An International Society of...

CFAR members have contributed to the development of an evidence summary focusing on the likely impact of legalising recreational cannabis use.  This summary can be found here. Note that the medicinal use of cannabis has its own law. On 20th November 2020 Professor...

CFAR member, Professor Chris Bullen, is a co-author of the prestigious Cochrane review on e-cigarettes and their effect on smoking cessation. The review includes two HRC-funded pragmatic clinical trials run by CFAR researchers at the University of Auckland, one led by...

The worryingly symbiotic relationship between pokie machines and community funding. Read more here.

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CFAR member Dr Rhys Ponton has concerns about a significant change in the practices of opioid users in NZ, brought on by changes in available morphine preparations. Currently, all morphine comes via diverted illicit pharmaceuticals. However, a change in funding...

A mobile app called ‘Step Away: NZ Edition’ has been developed and tested (using a clinical trial design) by CFAR researchers at the University of Auckland, Waitemata District Health Board and the University of Anchorage Alaska, to help New Zealanders manage their...

‘Manaaki’ is a new mHealth cognitive behavioural therapy app for people experiencing gambling harms or problems. The app has been developed at the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI), School of Population Health, University of Auckland, and is based on the...

Two CFAR members, Professor Benedikt Fisher and Professor Chris Bullen, were authors of a recent commentary on cannabis legislation in the journal ‘World Psychiatry’ – the world’s leading psychiatry journal. The article ‘Considering the health and social welfare...

How are New Zealanders with addiction problems coping in the lockdown? We’ve seen the news items showing queues outside liquor outlets but what is actually happening, especially in households that are affected by alcohol and drug addiction? Grant Christie spoke with...

CFAR researchers, Associate Professor Natalie Walker and Professor Chris Bullen, along with researchers from ASH NZ, recently investigated youth use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes in New Zealand from 2014-2019 using data from the ASH Year 10 Survey. The study found...