The New Normal—Health Services are forming an alliance with big pharma and big tobacco

In our article “Some Hard Sobering Truths Are Beginning to Sink in” we reported that Health Services in highly vaccinated countries are beginning to realise that more people are falling sick than ever before.

Higher percentages of the population are suffering from chronic and serious health conditions that require more medical care. This is putting a strain on national health budgets particularly in nations with high rates of Covid vaccination. However governments aren’t prepared to admit this, rather framing the crisis as due to a lack of resources, personnel, facilities, organisation or funding—anything but the truth. This article asks how governments are intending to direct their growing health spending. The answers are very concerning.

An article in the NZ health this morning is entitled “UK health secretary says changes in new contract for family doctors will reduce pressure on hospitals” It draws upon newspaper articles published overseas. Faced with more people falling sick more often, British GPs are being asked to use computer tools to prioritise consultations with people who visit emergency departments and/or stay in hospitals frequently, euphemistically described as “frequent flyers”. The aim is to reduce pressure on overworked hospitals who have run out of beds due to the increased volume of sickness. In other words, the government wants GPs to play a greater role in treating the seriously ill who are referred to as the “most vulnerable” in order to sound as if help is on the way. Understandably the British Medical Association is pushing back, saying that GPs do not have the diagnostic resources, equipment, specialist expertise or funding to treat many chronic conditions and serious emergencies.

So what are GPs specifically being asked to offer to their patients? Under a key provision of their new contract starting on April 1st, British GPs will be paid bonuses worth up to £3000 a year (NZ$6750) if they boost the roll out of so-called miracle weight loss injections with additional financial incentives if the rate of childhood vaccinations among their patients increases. 

Incredibly, Wes Streeting, UK Health Minister says that “these measures will bring the NHS out of the dark ages”. Which says just about everything we need to know about the hollow heart of government plans for healthcare.

Similar initiatives are planned in NZ as we reported in our article “Weight Loss Drug Enables You to Swap One Disease for Dozens of Others”. A serious problem arises because the rate of adverse effects of GLP-1 weight loss drugs is very high including long term serious health conditions such as a doubled risk of pancreatitis, an 11% increase in the risk of arthritis, an increased risk of bowel obstruction, an elevated risk of low blood pressure, blindness, and serious kidney disease. The UK Daily Mail reported in January 2025 that the number of people in hospital as a result of weight loss drug side effects has rocketed. 

The epidemic of obesity would be better laid at the door of industrial food production. Therefore GPs might be better advised to encourage improved diet and exercise regimes. Instead, Health Services are effectively incentivising them to ignore such proven natural approaches. They are following a trend established during the pandemic—incentivise injections and ignore the adverse effects. Publish articles ascribing miracle status to risky prescriptions and pat themselves on the back for being so wise, or is it deluded?

There are alternatives. US Surgeon General nominee Casey Means is currently going through the Senate ratification process. In her opening address, she said:

“Public health leaders must address the evidence-based, modifiable drivers of chronic diseases which include ultra-processed foods, industrial chemical exposure, lack of physical activity, chronic stress and loneliness, and over-medicalisation. As Surgeon General, I would call on every American and the Public Health Service to join in a great national healing — one that halts preventable chronic disease, makes healthy living the easiest choice, honours the body’s connection to the environment, and puts America back on the road towards wholeness and health.”

Despite some heartening sentiments surfacing in unexpected places like those of Casey Means, there seems to be a myopia when it comes to facing up to adverse effects of Health Service decisions. An article in the NZ Herald this week proclaims “Health NZ hands out over 7000 free vapes in two months to help smokers quit. A more sobering view is evident when you look at the health risks of vaping. An article in the UK Daily Mail is entitled: “The growing evidence vaping really IS harmful – and how it raises the risk of serious infection and even a chronic lung condition that triggers organ failure”. It reports studies which show people who vape are more likely than non-vapers to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD – a chronic lung condition which can trigger organ failure. COPD is associated with a ten year life expectancy following diagnosis. Research also suggests that regular vaping can weaken the lung’s protection against potentially serious infections and can even damage the teeth. 

As a result, the UK is clamping down on vaping. Many countries – including Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Mexico – have even chosen to ban open sale of the products over safety fears. Not so NZ, which has its head in the sand, deluded by its own public relations drive. Health NZ officials have decided to push ahead with a wider vape rollout, asking for tenders from vape companies for a deal it described as a “significant opportunity”. In fact before the introduction of vapes, 16.4% of Kiwis smoked. Today an estimated 6.8% smoke but 11.7% vape, a total of 18.5% inhaling nicotine products and thereby risking serious illness. Some surveys have come up with even higher estimates. Among the 15-24 year age group, daily vaping has increased faster than any drop in tobacco smoking. Health NZ wants us to believe this is a win. How dumb is that?

Multinational tobacco companies own the vast majority of vaping brands. British American Tobacco owns Vuse and Vype. Altria owns NJOY and JUUL, Imperial Brands owns Blu, Japan Tobacco International owns Logic and Ploom and Philip Morris owns IQOS and VEEV. NZ Tobacco Holdings now owns shares in Vape Merchant’s parent company, Vapertech. So why are Health NZ proposing jointly beneficial arrangements with Big Tobacco? You tell me. It doesn’t make any sense health wise. It doesn’t stand up to the results of research. 

Both weight loss drugs and vaping are highly profitable enterprises for multinational corporations. Health NZ seems to feel comfortable existing in their space.  A medical ideology has taken hold during the pandemic that says: “We are in charge, you will do as we say because we know what is right. We don’t have to explain the risks or take responsibility for them. You will be responsible to cope with the consequences of our actions”.

Viewed in the cold light of day it seems that some Health Services have given up on wellness in favour of drug dealing. Never mind the risks and the rising tide of adverse effects. As long as it plays out in the newspapers to an uninformed public as exciting new health technology, it is OK. As the casualties mount they can be ignored. These are sometimes labelled as unlucky or dismissed as the price of progress. Are government subsidised weight loss injections or e cigarettes our ticket out of the dark ages? We beg to differ and so should they.

Guy Hatchard PhD was formerly a senior manager at Genetic ID a global food testing and safety company (now known as FoodChain ID). You can visit his website hatchardreport.com or subscribe to his Substack.

He is the author of ‘Your DNA Diet: Leveraging the Power of Consciousness To Heal Ourselves and Our World. An Ayurvedic Blueprint For Health and Wellness’.