Book details resistance to Public Health Commission

‘‘The tobacco industry celebrated after the commission was disbanded.’’ Former chairman Dr David Skegg

Tobacco, dairy, alcohol and food industry bodies worked together to get New Zealand’s Public Health Commission disbanded, a new book says.

That left New Zealand unable to effectively tackle some of the biggest public health epidemics causing premature deaths, including obesity, asbestos, colorectal cancer, and campylobacter.

In The Health of the People, Dr David Skegg traces the weakness of New Zealand public health systems to lobbying in the 1990s by a consortium of business interests, which had the ear of ministers.

Skegg wrote the book to fulfil a promise he made to himself in 1995 on the death of the Public Health Commission (PHC), which he was chairman of, to one day tell the country what really led to its demise.

He also hoped the book would convince the government panel reviewing health and disability to recommend the establishment of a PHC-style government public health agency able to provide independent advice on public health as a counterbalance to the lobbying power of the alcohol, tobacco and food industries.

Public health measures such as the provision of clean water, sewerage, healthy housing, and anti-tobacco legislation have delivered the biggest leaps forward in human health and longevity.

Skegg said the PHC fell into disfavour with big business soon after it was created in 1992, when it announced plans to look at public health policy on alcohol, tobacco, food and nutrition.

Skegg said he was summoned

to a meeting in 1993, in which then minister of health Bill Birch revealed the power of the dairy and alcohol industries.

‘‘Mr Birch intimated that the draft papers from the PHC had ‘upset’ the Dairy Board, the Beer, Wine and Spirits Council and the Wine Institute.

‘‘Apparently, as well as contacting ministers, a leader of one of these bodies had telephoned the prime minister,’’ Skegg said.

‘‘Mr Birch said that, while he was in favour of the legislation that had set up the commission, it was essential that its actions should not annoy such bodies.’’

Skegg learnt more in the years after 1995, in the form of a letter from a corporate affairs manager of tobacco company Wills (NZ) written to colleagues in British American Tobacco, which became public in a civil trial overseas. It covered the strategy the tobacco industry had for the PHC, and celebrations after it was disbanded.

The PHC was also unpopular after it began investigating the health effects of benefit cuts.