Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

Palmerston North has been named the "Cold and Flu Capital of New Zealand", in a Colmar Brunton survey undertaken on behalf of Panadol.

A thousand New Zealanders were polled, with 72% of people reporting suffering from a cold or flu already this winter. Things were slightly worse in Palmerston North, where an impressive 79% of people had come down with a cold or flu. Tauranga residents were the healthiest, with just 62% of people there falling ill.

Panadol says 66% of those with a cold or flu used specialised medications to help ease their symptons. They say the best thing to do when the 'cold takes hold' is to drink plenty of fluids, rest as much as possible, and (of course) reach for a specialised cold or flu medication.

Demographic breakdowns revealed Pasifika people were most likely to take cold or flu remedies, while Asian people were most likely to visit the doctor first. The dreaded "Man Flu" was also evident in the survey... 8% of males said they go straight to their doctor as the first sign of the sniffles, against just 3% of females.

The PR company who released the survey points out that Palmerston North does "have many great things going for it too", including no overhead power lines, cheap movie tickets, lots of trees, and free buses for University students and staff.

And according to the Palmerston North City Council's website, "Palmerston North has less annual rainfall than New York City, and warmer weather than London" - although as the press release notes – if you’ve ever been to London, that's not a particularly strong claim to fame.