Real-World Application of Unhealthy Commodity Industries’ Corporate Political Activity Research; Comment on “Corporate Political Activity: Taxonomies and Model of Corporate Influence on Public Policy”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors

1 Public Health Unit of Amadora, Amadora-Sintra Local Health Unit, Lisbon, Portugal

2 Medicine Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

Abstract

Taxonomies are essential tools for structuring evidence in public health, particularly in rapidly evolving fields like the Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH). Ulucanlar et al addressed an important gap by proposing taxonomies to systematically document and classify corporate political activity (CPA) across unhealthy commodity industries. In this commentary we reflect on the broader relevance of these frameworks for CDoH research and discuss their real-world applicability through a case study of the Portuguese alcohol industry. Drawing from our empirical findings, we highlight both the practical strengths and challenges we encountered, and propose an additional use: employing CPA taxonomies as communication tools to translate complex corporate strategies into accessible narratives for broader public health audiences. Finally, we identify opportunities for refinement, including developing complementary quantitative metrics and the integration of CPA surveillance into routine public health systems. 

Keywords


  1. Maani N, Collin J, Friel S, et al. Bringing the commercial determinants of health out of the shadows: a review of how the commercial determinants are represented in conceptual frameworks. Eur J Public Health. 2020;30(4):660-664. doi:1093/eurpub/ckz197
  2. Public health taxonomy for social listening on respiratory pathogens. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023.
  3. de Lacy-Vawdon C, Livingstone C. Defining the commercial determinants of health: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2020;20:1022. doi:1186/s12889-020-09126-1

 

  1. Baum F, Sanders D, Fisher M, et al. Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: its importance and a framework. Glob Health. 2016;12:27. doi:1186/s12992-016-0164-x
  2. Lima JM, Galea S. The corporate permeation index – a tool to study the macrosocial determinants of non-communicable disease. SSM Popul Health. 2019;7:100361. doi:1016/j.ssmph.2019.100361
  3. Lee K, Freudenberg N, Zenone M, et al. Measuring the Commercial Determinants of Health and Disease: A Proposed Framework. Int J Health Serv. 2022;52(1):115-128. doi:1177/00207314211044992
  4. Ulucanlar S, Lauber K, Fabbri A, et al. Corporate Political Activity: Taxonomies and Model of Corporate Influence on Public Policy. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2023;12:7292. doi:34172/ijhpm.2023.7292
  5. Paixão MM, Mialon M. Help or Hindrance? The Alcohol Industry and Alcohol Control in Portugal. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(22):4554. doi:3390/ijerph16224554
  6. Wood B, Baker P, Sacks G. Conceptualising the commercial determinants of health using a power lens: a review and synthesis of existing frameworks. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2022;11(8):1251-1261. doi:34172/ijhpm.2021.05
  7. Bennett E, Topp SM, Moodie AR. National Public Health Surveillance of Corporations in Key Unhealthy Commodity Industries - A Scoping Review and Framework Synthesis. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2023;12:6876. doi:34172/ijhpm.2023.6876
  8. Thomas S, Daube M, van Schalkwyk M, et al. Acting on the Commercial Determinants of Health. Health Promot Int. 2024;39(6):daae183. doi:1093/heapro/daae183

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 14 May 2025
  • Receive Date: 10 March 2025
  • Revise Date: 08 May 2025
  • Accept Date: 11 May 2025
  • First Publish Date: 14 May 2025