Research shows the Fruit in Schools scheme is helping kids stay focused and better behaved in the classroom.

Buyer beware: That's the expert advice for beachgoers wanting a quick fix to brighten their pearly whites for summer.

After two of her children developed rheumatic fever, Te Aroha Teriaki is warning parents to always err on the side of caution.

The husband of Maori Party MP Rahui Katene says he resigned as the head of the Mental Health Commission in 2008 after using commission money for personal spending.

A watchdog has slammed three organisations over the locking up of a alcoholic, 43, in a resthome for more than a year without proper legal authority.

A $5 million a year study has found that 40 per cent of the babies born in Auckland and the Waikato in the past year were "accidents".

Some central Auckland patients could be treated at North Shore and Waitakere Hospitals under a spirit of collaboration, the man now responsible for nearly one million Aucklanders' health has indicated.

The minister responsible for tobacco control, Tariana Turia, wants smoking banned in cars and will push for other tough anti-smoking policies.

Labour leader Phil Goff says proposed changes to ACC levies are the Government's way of moving to a user-pays, privatised system by "stealth".

Aged care experts want a nationwide review of rest home meals after revelations large numbers of elderly people are malnourished.

Physiotherapy claims paid for by ACC have slumped by nearly a quarter, reflecting the social insurer's sharp cut backs in health treatment - at a time when New Zealand's rate of injuries is continuing to climb.

Tobacco products are to be hidden and anti-smoking officers will get powers to instantly fine shops under new Govt measures.

The Auckland District Health Board will apologise to a mother whose unborn baby did not survive a publicly funded procedure at Auckland Hospital and was sent a $2200 bill for the treatment.