For every dollar spent on early child development you save $7 over the life course because children with better early child development are less likely to end up delinquent, involved in crime, unemployed and so on.

The differences between Indigenous and not Indigenous Australians can be easily attributed not to differences in their genes but to differences in the conditions in which they're born, grow, live, work and age - in other words, to the social determinants of health.

In Sweden for example people with PhDs have lower mortality than those with a masters degree. And people with a masters degree or a professional degree are not poor.

General improvements in health/decline in mortality do not affect all classes equally. As mortality rates fall, social inequalities commonly widen.

Low income is related to poorer housing, poorer diet, fewer social amenities, worse working conditions. (...) After adjustment for age, sex, race, smoking, alcohol consumption, sleep habits, leisure-time physical activity, chest pain, diabetes, or cancer, there was still an increase risk of 1.6 for those with inadequate incomes.

The academic life is wonderful. That's why people love to do research.

I don't blame people for smoking when I see a social gradient in smoking. I say we need to understand why is it the lower you are in the hierarchy the more likely you are to smoke. So we need to address the causes of the causes.