1 July 2004

Adolescent Dental Health Campaign Misleading

The adolescent dental health campaign being launched in Christchurch today by the Minister of Health has a hollow ring to it, says New Zealand First health spokesperson, Barbara Stewart.

“The main objective of the campaign is to promote the use of free dental care services for teenagers up to the age of 18 years.

“The campaign slogan is ‘It’s Free & It’s All Good’. Unfortunately this service is also not available in many parts of the country because of a shortage of dentists willing to participate and the Ministry of Health has the figures to illustrate this,” said Mrs Stewart.

“Many dentists find contracts to treat adolescents are not sufficiently funded to be viable and they no longer offer this service.

“If a commercial enterprise indulged in such misleading advertising the Consumer’s Institute and Fair Go would soon be in hot pursuit.

“Rather than spending money advertising a non-existent product, the Government would be better funding the District Health Boards to employ dentists specifically to treat adolescents or extending the school dental service,” said Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>