Should we ban the use of controversial herbicide, paraquat?

Should we ban the use of controversial herbicide, paraquat?

June 26, 2026 · 42 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of the APVMA's decision on paraquat, vaccine hesitancy among parents, and the effectiveness of IVF add-on treatments.

A movement disorder specialist says the APVMA decision on the use of herbicide paraquat ignores evidence of the link with cases of Parkinson's disease. Analysis of patient data shows less than twenty percent of people attend a cardiac rehabilitation program after their hospital stay, despite the fact that it can make a huge difference to health outcomes. There's been a substantial increase in vaccine concerns from parents, with changes to messaging on vaccines in the USA filtering through to Australia. A childhood immunisation expert outlines an approach to help turn this around. And a study shows most IVF add-on treatments do not result in more pregnancies. References: Statement from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority Chemical regulator approves restricted use of herbicide paraquat previously linked to Parkinson's disease Mapping patient outcomes associated with cardiac rehabilitation Childhood vaccine hesitancy, The New England Journal of Medicine Safety and effectiveness of ten common in-vitro fertilisation add-ons No evidence most IVF add-on treatments improve fertility Concerns regarding the public health risks associated with unapproved peptide…

More episodes of Health Report

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Health Report podcast page.