Smoking is a major risk factor for both Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and respiratory tract infections. Such infections, both viral and bacterial, also increase the SIDS risk. This study investigated the effect of cigarette smoke at two stages of infection: 1) mucosal surface colonization; 2) induction and control of inflammatory responses. For colonization, RSV or influenza A infected cells bound several bacterial species in significantly higher numbers due to increased expression of host cell antigens. Buccal epithelial cells from smokers bound significantly more bacteria. For Staphylococcus aureus, this was associated with increased tar levels. Some SIDS deaths have been proposed to result from high levels of pro-inflammatory mediators elicited by infection and/or cigarette smoke during a developmental period when infants are less able to control inflammatory responses. Inflammatory responses were compared between blood samples from smokers (n = 42) and non-smokers (n = 60) stimulated with TSST-1 or LPS. Non-smokers had significantly higher IL-6 (P = 0.011), IFN (P = 0.003) and IL-10 (P = 0.000) baseline levels. Non-smokers had higher IFN (P = 0.008) and IL-1 (P = 0.001, 0.007) responses to LPS and higher IL-10 responses to TSST-1 (P < 0.05) and LPS (P < 0.000). This study highlights that smoking increases the SIDS risk by greater susceptibility to viral and bacterial infections and enhanced bacterial binding after passive coating of mucosal surfaces with smoke components. In animal models, IL-10 reduced the lethal effect of staphylococcal toxins. In this study, smokers had lower IL-10 responses to TSST-1 and LPS. Dose response effects of cigarette smoke exposure needs to be established in relation to inflammatory response control and infantile infections.

An editorial piece to accompany another article in this issue - "Driveway-related motor vehicle injuries: a preventable tragedy" (see rec # 5898).

A trend throughout the US is for law enforcement personnel to write fewer traffic tickets as they concentrate on more serious crimes. Yet the routine stopping of vehicles can pick up people wanted for serious crimes plus making the streets safer for drivers and pedestrians. Discusses ways to encourage law enforcement agencies to heighten their response to traffic violations.

Quad bike safety represents the quintessential wicked problem. To address this wicked problem, this research explores the use of quad bikes in the northwestern region of outback Queensland, Australia, concentrating efforts on the pastoral industry. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with pastoralists, farmers, retailers, repairers, healthcare professionals, and regulators. The discussions revealed the diverse activities currently undertaken in the region's pastoral enterprises while riding a quad bike, and that attitudes toward the purchase and use of quad bikes vary and may be influenced by retailers. Perceptions of risk and safety in the use of quad bikes in occupational settings also varied. The findings from this study provide insight into the decisions of local pastoralists and agriculturalists to use quad bikes in their workplaces, and attitudes toward safety and injury prevention relating to quad bike use in these industries in northwestern outback Queensland. This study is the first step toward understanding quad bike use in this region, with the goal of reducing injury and death, and will be used in policy and legislation development regarding the use and safety of quad bikes in Australia.

More than 26,000 children in America sustain injuries associated with shopping trolleys. A call for the design of trolleys to be changed.

Problem: Recent reports about bicycle helmet wearing indicate that the number of helmet users is still very small among teenagers. The objective of this prevalence survey was to investigate why teenagers do not use a bicycle helmet even if they have one. Method: Data were collected at two schools in Helsinki, Finland. High school students (N = 965) completed a questionnaire about their cycling habits and bicycle helmet use. Results: A student’s parents’ positive attitude to bicycle helmet use was the strongest predictor of having a helmet. Analyses of responses given by bicycle helmet owners showed that having friends who use a bicycle helmet is strongly related to a student’s decision to wear a helmet. In addition, parents’ positive opinion to helmet wearing predicted helmet use frequency. Other factors accounted only for a small proportion of variance in helmet wearing frequency. Summary and Impact on Industry: The present study shows that the most efficient way of increasing bicycle helmet-wearing rate among students is to influence peer opinions and to inform students’ parents about the safety benefits of bicycle helmets, which should be taken into account when planning bicycle helmet-wearing campaigns and other countermeasures.

Transport poses a public health risk and the burden is greatest on the poorest in society. There is a strong relationship between social class and the liklihood of road injury. In 1980, the Black Report, published by the government department for health in England, identified a strong socioeconomic gradient between child pedestrian fatalities and social class, with children from the lowest social class being 5 times more likely to die compared to their counterparts in the highest social class...

This article comments on an article in the same issue of the 'Journal' ('The contribution of causes of death to socioeconomic inequalities in child mortality...') and also provides further commentary on related issues, e.g. injuries, activities, housing, poverty and culture. The authors suggest that perhaps it is now time to hold back from searching for more evidence and divert energy towards influencing policy.

Worldwide, people use fire for a variety of purposes. Although researchers have learned how fire is used in many parts of the globe, relatively little is known about wildfire risk awareness and prevention activities by fire users. This paper presents results of a qualitative study in the Far North, Aotearoa New Zealand, where fire is used by residents primarily for burning vegetation on rural properties and household rubbish. Semistructured interviews and a focus group were completed with 25 predominantly Indigenous Maori residents to examine residents' wildfire risk awareness, fire use and wildfire prevention. Participants' high level of awareness of the local wildfire risk was due to their understanding of the local environment, past wildfires, attachments to land, information passed down within Maori whanau (extended families), and the local rural fire force. Awareness of the local wildfire risk, attachments to land, and efforts by the local fire force and residents encouraged participants to use fire safely, and abide by and carry out wildfire prevention initiatives. However, there was evidence of fire use contravening fire prevention regulations, including burning during restricted seasons without a permit and in prohibited seasons. Recommendations are provided to encourage safe fire use in Northland and beyond.

This booklet outlines some of your responsibilities in preventing harm as a self-employed person working in a farming environment.

This article outlines the current debate in Britain regarding legislation requiring seat belts in buses.

Mulgrave shire in Northern Australia, has implemented rigidly policed pool safety legislation since 1960; a study of the child drowning profiles therein is reported here to give an estimate of the efficacy of safety legislation. No child has drowned in a fenced pool either in Cairns or in Mulgrave Shires over the 10-year period of the survey.

This story is about risk taking Hubert Bear who is very excited about his new invention - a bike machine. He can't wait to ride it on the road but safety conscious William the Chimp has other ideas.

Contemporary transport project evaluation requires the ability to value reductions in the number of estimated fatal and non-fatal accidents after project implementation. In this quest, the researchers designed a stated preference (SP) experiment to estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) for reducing fatal accident risk in urban areas. The survey was implemented in a Web page allowing rapid turnover and a complete customisation of the interview. The sample was presented with a series of route choice situations based on travel time, cost and number of car fatal accidents per year. With this data they estimated Multinomial Logit (MNL) and Mixed Logit (ML) models based on a consistent microeconomic framework; the former with linear and non-linear utility specifications and allowing for various stratifications of the data. The more flexible ML models also allow to treat the repeated observations problem common to SP data and, as expected, gave a better fit to the data in all cases. Based on these models, they estimated subjective values of time, that were consistent with previous values obtained in the country, and also sensible values for the WTP for reductions in fatal accident risk. Thus, the Internet appears as a potentially very interesting medium to carry out complex stated choice surveys.

Willy is a young boy amazed by computers and computer games. He is also keen on watching television. Watchit is a computer game character. He is a highly evolved humanoid cybersaur. He and Willy and their friends go on journeys and learn a lot about safety in the process. Print resources available from ROSPA, UK

According to 3M their Scotchshield Ultra High performance Safety and Security Window Film, has been in development for six years and is said to be "by far the toughest window film available today".

This article is based on data from the Starship Trauma System and examines injury admissions which occur during winter. Includes information on cause of injury (such as fall, transport, caught accidentally in or between objects, Striking against/ struck accidentally, cutting, etc), cause of admission, time of year and place of injury. Includes several tables and charts.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ Energy Safety Service advises that, in order for you to stay safe, electric blankets should be checked each year- regardless of their age. At the start of each winter, before using your electric blanket, check for damage or wear and check again each time you change the sheets. Inspect the cord, control switch and plug and look for any kinks, worn wires, scorch marks, or breaks in the heating element. This resource provides further safety advice and a useful safety checklist.

Excellent photos of children in life jackets.

This is a pull-out resource from the Plunket Safety Update which provides some useful advice around the prevention of thermal injuries, and things to be particularly aware of during the winter months.

This article provides some advice for families with young children around electrical safety.

Winter is an exciting time for kids. It brings great outdoor activities, such as snowboarding and skating, but also cold weather, ice and snow, which can present a danger to children. But that doesn't mean they can't enjoy the winter. This factsheet provides some winter safety tips for both parents and children, under the following headings; 1) In general, 2) Clothing, 3) Skating, 4) Skiing/snowboarding, 5) Sledding, 6) Snow forts and snow banks, 7) Snowballs, and 8) Snowmobiles

Discusses the hazards associated with winter sporting pursuits and the need for protection against hypothermia.;15-Jun-94

"Being on the road in winter can seem dangerous and intimidating. However, you can go a long way towards ensuring the safety of your students, staff and school community by encouraging them to adjust their driving and pedestrian behaviour for the conditions."

This is a cell-phone sized sealable plastic bag for use by people who want to keep their cell-phone safe and dry while boating. It displays the following message: -Wise up to the Water -Don't go overboard with the booze -Use 3 points of contact to prevent falls on a boat; 2 footholds + 1 handhold, or 2 handholds + 1 foothold, or seated + 1 handhold.

This drowning prevention tattoo features the words 'Wise up to the water' on a stylised Maori wave design. From WaterSafe Auckland/ Wai.

A book of maps of the Auckland region. Waiheke Island to the West Coast, Waiwera to beyond the Bombay Hill. 98 maps.

This Pacific drowning prevention DVD was launched along with the Pacific drowning prevention strategy: 'Pacific Peoples water safety strategy 2008 - 2012'. This DVD resides in the 'information kit' which makes up item # 8991, also see this record for related resources. There is a preponderance of young Pacific men drowning while fishing, net-fishing etc and this new DVD especially addresses this area. It features a case study of Palu Seti Siua, a Pacific husband and father of eight who drowned when he and a friend went fishing in a dinghy and drowned while coming ashore on rocks in heavy seas. There is an interview with an affected family member about the impact of the drowning on them. There is also an interview with Ikilifi Pope, a minister of the Tongan Methodist Church, Papatoetoe, in Tongan. There are also video segments on: then correct use of flotation devices/ life jackets, putting cellphones into sealable plastic bags to use for emergency communication and the value of learning to swim.

Teacher based activities to encourage the purchase and use of wristguards for snowboarders.

These videos are being archived onto this wmv disc as they were primarily produced by Safekids NZ. The files have also been saved to our shared drive. This disc includes copies of the video files: - 'Keep kids safe' (in eight languages: English, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Rarotongan, Niuean, Mandarin and Cantonese). - Kids don't bounce. - Buckle them in. - Keep kids safe near water. - Getting to school safely - Burns and scalds. The 'Keep kids safe' videos feature a number of families from different ethnic groups who act out a series of scenarios showing how injuries in and around the home can happen. The actual video is produced in English but voice overs in other languages have been used at the end of each scenario. This video is a revamping by Safekids of the original Plunket' Keep Kids Safe' video. See also records # 2122, 2123, 2124, 2125, 2126, 2127, 2128, 2051, 5177, 3854, 2821and 2836.

This book describes how Woodend School meets the World Health Organisation's Safe School criteria. This school is the first WHO International Safe School in New Zealand. Contents include: policies; safety programmes; frequency and causes of injury; evaluation measures. Contains statistical tables.

The hazards discussed in this continued analysis of work related injury on the VISS database are trucks, chemicals, ladders, forklift trucks, scaffolding, flame, fire and smoke, electrical injuries, lifting and cardboard products. Additionally there are analyses of children in the workplace and on-the-job (e.g.paper runs). Gives prevention strategies.

This is a pamphlet where the Safe Communities Foundation New Zealand (SCFNZ) promotes the Passport to Safety scheme which aims to improve workplace safety for youth. It describes what the Passport is, what the evidence for it as an intervention is, what the benefits of improved safety are and how to get started.

Recent research suggests that a significant proportion of school children aged 10-16 years are employed outside the home during the school term. Delivery work represents only a minority of such employment and children are found working in a wide range of 'adult' jobs, particularly in the service sector. This raises concerns about health and safety hazards faced by working children. There is an absence of data on the effects of different kinds of work and working conditions on child health and development, which is thus a barrier to defining goals, policies and effective action. This paper aims to address these issues through presenting some research findings on child employment and incidences of accident. The study is based on surveys of school children in North Tyneside and Norfolk. The authors' analysis shows that there is a high level of accidents occurring at work among children aged 10-16 years old. While legislation exists in the UK to prevent children from working in the most hazardous environments and to prohibit young children from undertaking any employment, it is clear that such work does take place. The authors' findings indicate that it is time to look at the occupational health of children as a major concern.

This whole issue of Injury Prevention News looks at workplace safety particularly fire hazard and prevention. Articles also cover educating workers about industrial safety - at school level, the story of a worker who survived electrocution and particular issues for shift workers.

Important points to coniser about Northern alberta when developing program strategies: Islolation, limited resources, lack of anonymity, community characteristics, population, relationships, formality, conservatism, value system, tradionalism, pace of living, technology, community sohesion, lifestyle, social participation, power relationships.

Report of a 12 month research project undertaken by the Child and Family Research Centre of Barnados New Zealand designed to identify variables associated with positive change by families.

"Multiagency working is often regarded as the universal panacea in accident and injury prevention. There is no doubt that it is important, but it should be remembered that it is only a tool that allows programs to be implemented. It is not an end in itself. One still has to identify the problems, choose the most appropriate countermeasures and implement them as well as possible. Then we might see accidents and injuries continuing to be reduced".

Melbourne accident data highlights the safety problem in local streets and particularly the vulnerability of children and elderly pedestrians who use those streets. The primary purpose of this report is to recommend practical innovative initiatives to local street problems which municipal councils and local communities can implement and to identify any actions which VIC Roads should take to assist and complement the process.

This data factsheet provides a breakdown of comparative injury data for a national injury profile versus a Waitakere injury profile.

Discusses common hazards for children in the workplace

This action plan supports the 'Workplace health and safety strategy for New Zealand to 2015'. It aims to facilitate collaboration and the co-ordination of funding, resources and research. It includes the vision of 'Healthy people in safe and productive workplaces' and may be of interest in relation to children visiting workplaces and being on sites such as farms. (See record # 8755 for the Strategy document and other related documents.)

This strategy aims to lift New Zealand's health and safety performance and supports the New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy (NZIPS). It aims to facilitate collaboration and the co-ordination of funding, resources and research. It includes the vision of 'Healthy people in safe and productive workplaces' and may be of interest in relation to children visiting workplaces and being on sites such as farms. (See record # 8755 for other related documents.)

Work-related deaths of children and adolescents up to the age of 19 years were studied as part of a larger investigation into all work-related fatalitites in Australian between 1982-84...The study aimed to characterise the cirucmstances which led to the deaths of these children. Special mention is made of rural and particulary tractor accidents.