Mark Hanna
Movement of the Moon - Honest Universe
Oct 11, 2014 •
If you were up late last Wednesday, you’d have gotten the chance to watch the second total lunar eclipse this year. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves directly between the Moon and the Sun, therefore blocking the light to the Moon and making it turn dark. This is very cool to watch, especially […]
ACC and Acupuncture 2 - Honest Universe
Sep 04, 2014 •
The ACC has responded to my Official Information Act request that I mentioned in my last post on ACC and acupuncture. Here’s what I asked for in my request: Dear Accident Compensation Corporation, In response to an Official Information Act request from Kevin McCready in June (https://fyi.org.nz/request/1749-continue…), Mrs Koleti Vae’au wrote that: In 2011, ACC’s […]
Green Party Health Policy - Honest Universe
Sep 02, 2014 •
There was a thread recently in one of the Facebook groups I’m a member of in which, among other election-related things, the Green Party’s Health Policy was being discussed. It was mentioned that the Green Party had been essentially pro-CAM, at least in the past. As I’d been considering voting for the Greens, this was […]
The Price of Painkillers Part 2: Only Misleading in Australia - Honest Universe
Aug 29, 2014 •
Yesterday, I wrote about how various painkillers with the same active ingredients often cost different amounts. In particular I talked about Reckitt Benckiser’s “Nurofen” ibuprofen products, some of which are advertised as targeting specific types of pain even though it doesn’t seem plausible, given that they are essentially exactly the same, that they could target […]
The Price of Painkillers - Honest Universe
Aug 28, 2014 •
DISCLAIMER: Since I mention some specific branded pharmaceutical products in this article, I want to make it very clear that I don’t intend to promote any particular product and have no conflict of interests to declare. Last Saturday, the New Zealand Herald’s Consumer Affairs reporter Morgan Tait published a very good article about a topic […]
ACC and Acupuncture - Honest Universe
Aug 25, 2014 •
Over the past year or so, various Official Information Act (OIA) requests have been made via the website fyi.org.nz, which allows for these requests and their responses to be made public. I have written previously about the results of some of these requests regarding ACC and Alternative Medicine. I’ve also shared some more information on […]
Osmosis Skincare’s Drinkable Sunscreen Trial - Honest Universe
Aug 10, 2014 •
If you haven’t already read my post about Osmosis Skincare’s Drinkable Sunscreen, you might want to do that before you read this one. A brief overview is that Osmosis Skincare claims drinking their “harmonized water” prevents sunburn. I complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that this claim wasn’t backed up by evidence and the complaint […]
ASA Complaint: Osmosis Skincare’s Drinkable Sunscreen - Honest Universe
Jul 28, 2014 •
In May this year, One News ran a story on a US skincare company releasing what it was calling “drinkable sunscreen”. Around the world, various sceptical websites also picked up the story, such as Doubtful News and Neurological Blog. The message was roughly that a “drinkable sunscreen” is a cool idea that isn’t entirely implausible, […]
July 2014 Auckland Skeptics in the Pub - Honest Universe
Jul 14, 2014 •
Every month there’s a meetup at Juice Bar in Parnell, Auckland, of the Auckland Skeptics in the Pub group. This month, I was asked to be the speaker. The topic of my talk was the regulation surrounding medical advertisements in New Zealand, and what can be done by members of the public to counteract some […]
Ethical Pharmacy Practice and Homeopathic NO-JET-LAG - Honest Universe
Jul 03, 2014 •
Pharmacies are an integral part of the healthcare industry. They provide a valuable decoupling between the doctor you see for an examination and potentially a prescription, and the institution that stands to profit from the medicine you pay for. Without this separation, there’s the potential for a conflict of interest where the physician examining you […]