Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Tue, Jan 27, 2026 03:14 AM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Simon Chapman

Emeritus Professor in Public Health, University of Sydney

Simon Chapman AO PhD FASSA HonFFPH(UK) is Emeritus Professor in Public Health at the University of Sydney. He has published over 500 articles in peer reviewed journals and 19 books and major reports. His H index is 53 and he has over 10,500 citations.

In 1997 he won the World Health Organisation's World No Tobacco Day Medal and in 2003 he was voted by his international peers to be awarded the American Cancer Society’s Luther Terry Award for outstanding individual leadership in tobacco control. In 2008 he won the NSW Premier’s Cancer Researcher of the Year medal; the Public Health Association of Australia’s Sidney Sax medal; and was a NSW finalist in Australian of the Year. He was deputy editor (1992-1997) then editor (1998-2008) of the British Medical Journal's, Tobacco Control and is now its Editor Emeritus. He was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2013 and was named Australian Skeptic of the Year

His recent research involves examining policy how health and medical issues are covered in the news media; how people stop smoking unaided; the psychogenic aspects of wind farms and health; and characteristics of public health research (and its dissemination) which impact on public health policy.

Why anecdotes aren't strong evidence when it comes to quitting smoking

Aug 07, 2017 08:36 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

In the early 1990s, I was the guest of the local health service in Broken Hill, New South Wales, during a national week promoting quitting smoking. I went on the local radio and the host invited ex-smokers to call in and...

Wind farms are hardly the bird slayers they're made out to be. Here's why

Jun 17, 2017 16:20 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

People who oppose wind farms often claim wind turbine blades kill large numbers of birds, often referring to them as bird choppers. And claims of dangers to iconic or rare birds, especially raptors, have attracted a lot of...

World Trade Organisation gives Australia's plain tobacco packs the (draft) thumbs up

May 05, 2017 14:33 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has reportedly backed Australias laws on plain tobacco packaging implemented from December 2012. The apparent decision marks the end of the last of three cases brought against...

Apocalypse now: wifi and radiation sickness sweeping the world

Mar 21, 2017 00:06 am UTC| Health

In 2006, two researchers, Hallberg and Oberfeld, published a terrifying forecast in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine asking Will we all become electrosensitive?. The researchers extrapolated figures from...

Can we trust Big Tobacco to promote public health?

Mar 14, 2017 05:16 am UTC| Health Politics

Theres a new catchcry in public health: people working in tobacco control should join with Big Tobacco to promote safer tobacco products. It runs like this: before starting work each morning, tobacco company employees...

Colonoscopy: nothing to fear from the 'silver stallion'

Mar 06, 2017 02:07 am UTC| Health

I recently had a colonoscopy, an invasive medical procedure to examine the bowel, and was hugely relieved to get the all-clear. I posted a description of my experience to my friends on Facebook and got a range of...

On the pleasure of smoking

Dec 02, 2016 04:41 am UTC| Health

Repeatedly, studies have found a large majority of smokers regret ever starting to smoke: 85% in this study, 90% in this four nation study. Each year, some 40% of smokers make an attempt to stop, with most relapsing within...

1 2

Economy

China Records First Annual Rise in Industrial Profits in Four Years as Export Growth Offsets Domestic Weakness

China posted its first annual increase in industrial profits in four years in 2025, signaling tentative relief for businesses after a prolonged period of margin pressure and price competition. Official data released on...

South Korean Auto Stocks Rebound as Trump Signals Higher U.S. Tariffs

Shares of South Koreas major automakers recovered from sharp early losses after U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to raise tariffs on South Korean goods, including automobiles, highlighting renewed uncertainty...

Canada's China EV Pivot starts a fresh US–Canada trade confrontation.

Tensions between the United States and Canada have risen sharply as Canadas new strategic partnership with China has triggered a rapid upsurge. By lowering tariffs on up to 49,000 Chinese electric cars from 100% to 6% in...

Pemex Halts Planned Crude Oil Shipment to Cuba Amid Rising US Pressure

Mexicos state-owned oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), has canceled a planned crude oil shipment to Cuba, according to a Bloomberg report, as geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Caribbean...

White House Urges Congress to Pass Funding Bill Ahead of January 30 Deadline

The White House is urging Congress to swiftly approve government funding legislation before the January 30 deadline, warning that any delay could risk a partial government shutdown and disrupt critical federal operations....

Politics

Japan Urges Fishermen to Avoid Senkaku Islands as China Tensions Rise

A 76-year-old Japanese fisherman, Hitoshi Nakama, has long seen himself as a frontline defender of Japans claims over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. For years, Nakama and other fishermen regularly...

Trump, Walz Seek De-Escalation After Minneapolis Deportation Crisis and Agent Shake-Up

President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signaled a possible easing of tensions on Monday following a private phone call, as both sides appeared to move toward defusing a growing crisis surrounding Trumps...

Israeli Strike in Southern Lebanon Kills Al-Manar TV Presenter, Raises Fears of Wider Escalation

A Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, said on Monday that an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed Ali Nour al-Din, a television presenter who worked for Al-Manar, the groups affiliated media outlet. The incident has...

Trump Administration Gun Comments Spark Rift With NRA Ahead of Midterms

Comments by senior Trump administration officials following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti at a Minneapolis protest have triggered an unusual and politically risky clash with powerful gun rights groups, raising concerns...

US Pushes Hamas Disarmament Plan Tied to Amnesty Under Gaza Redevelopment Efforts

The United States believes that the disarmament of Hamas militants in Gaza will be accompanied by some form of amnesty, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity. The remarks came as Washington and...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Microsoft Wins Approval to Build 15 New Data Centers in Wisconsin

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has taken another major step in expanding its data center footprint after receiving unanimous approval from local officials in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, to build 15 additional data...

Samsung Set to Begin HBM4 Production for Nvidia and AMD

Samsung Electronics is preparing to begin mass production of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, known as HBM4, as early as next month, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The...

U.S. Lawmakers Demand Scrutiny of TikTok-ByteDance Deal Amid National Security Concerns

U.S. lawmakers are calling for closer congressional scrutiny of a new deal involving TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, raising fresh concerns about national security, data privacy, and potential Chinese...

Ericsson Plans SEK 25 Billion Shareholder Returns as Margins Improve Despite Flat Network Market

Swedens telecom equipment giant Ericsson announced plans to significantly boost shareholder returns after reporting a sharp rise in net cash and continued margin improvements, even as the global mobile network market...

Microsoft Restores Microsoft 365 Services After Widespread Outage

Microsoft confirmed on Friday that it has fully restored access to its Microsoft 365 productivity suite following a widespread service outage that disrupted users across multiple regions, particularly in North America. The...