Addressing NCDs: Penetration of the Producers of Hazardous Products into Global Health Environment Requires a Strong Response; Comment on “Addressing NCDs: Challenges From Industry Market Promotion and Interferences”

Document Type: Commentary

Author

SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, College of Health, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Timely warnings and examples of industry interference in relation to tobacco, alcohol, food and breast milk substitutes are given in the editorial by Tangcharoensathien et al. Such interference is rife at national levels and also at the global level. In an era of ‘private public partnerships’ the alcohol and food industries have succeeded in insinuating themselves into the global health environment and their influence is seen in key recommendations regarding non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors in United Nations (UN) reports. The absence of legally binding health treaties in these areas facilitates this industry engagement and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides a valuable model to apply to control of other hazardous products.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Tangcharoensathien V, Chandrasiri O, Kunpeuk W, Markchang K, Pangkariya N. Addressing NCDs: challenges from industry market promotion and interferences. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2019;8(5):256-260. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2019.02
  2. World Health Organization. Preparation for the third High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, to be held in 2018 (Report by the Director-General). http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB142/B142_15-en.pdf.  Accessed March 12, 2019. Published 2017.
  3. Diageo. Diageo Annual Report 2017. https://solutions.vwdservices.com/products/documents/ed10423a-de9a-4659-accc-9929cb728e0a/?c=gaGYNdzTkhDUVseiV4HYG24l3XwN2zxAPgv6N5ZGCVTYV1kjr4DaTm0S3YFbnKnd.  Accessed May 30, 2018. Published 2017.
  4. Weishaar H, Dorfman L, Freudenberg N, et al. Why media representations of corporations matter for public health policy: a scoping review. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:899. doi:10.1186/s12889-12016-13594-12888
  5. Cuong PV, Casswell S, Parker K, et al. Cross-country comparison of proportion of alcohol consumed in harmful drinking occasions using the International Alcohol Control (IAC) study. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2018;37:S45–S52. doi:10.1111/dar.12665
  6. Roache SA, Gostin LO. The untapped power of soda taxes: incentivizing consumers, generating revenue, and altering corporate behavior. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2017;6:489-493. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2017.69
  7. O'Kelly PM, Davies A, Greig AJ, Lee KK. Obesity prevention in a city state: lessons from New York City during the Bloomberg Administration. Front Public Health. 2016;4:60. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00060
  8. Babor T, Robaina K. Public health, academic medicine, and the alcohol industry’s corporate social responsibility activities. Am J Public Health. 2013;103(2):206-214.
  9. Ferreira-Borges C, Endal D, Babor T, Dias S, Kachiwiya M, Zakeyu N. Alcohol policy process in Malawi: Making it happen. Int J Alcohol Drug Res. 2014;3(3):187-192.
  10. McCambridge J, Hawkins B, Holden C. Vested interests in addiction research and policy. The challenge corporate lobbying poses to reducing society's alcohol problems: insights from UK evidence on minimum unit pricing. Addiction. 2014;109(2):199-205. doi:10.1111/add.12380
  11. Hawkins B, Holden C, Eckhardt J, Lee K. Reassessing policy paradigms: a comparison of the global tobacco and alcohol industries. Glob Public Health. 2018;13(1):1-19. doi:10.1080/17441692.2016.1161815
  12. Moscetti C, Taylor A. Take me to your liter: politics, power and public-private partnerships with the sugar-sweetened beverage industry in the post-2015 development agenda. Wash Int Law J. 2015;24:635.
  13. World Health Organization. Civil society interactive hearing on noncommunicable diseases on 16 June 2011. https://www.who.int/nmh/events/2011/informal_hearing/en/index1.html. Accessed May 3, 2019. Published 2011.
  14. Stuckler D, Basu S, McKee M. Commentary: UN high level meeting on non-communicable diseases: an opportunity for whom? BMJ. 2011;343:d5336. doi:10.1136/bmj.d5336
  15. Whitaker K, Webb D, Linou N. Commercial influence in control of non-communicable diseases. BMJ. 2018;360:k110. doi:10.1136/bmj.k110
  16. Lieberman A. UN meeting on NCDs falls short on hard commitments, civil society say. https://www.devex.com/news/un-meeting-on-ncds-falls-short-on-hard-commitments-civil-society-say-93547.  Accessed May 2, 2019. Published 2018.
  17. World Health Organization (WHO). Framework of engagement with non-State actors. WHO; http://www.who.int/about/collaborations/non-state-actors/A69_R10-FENSA-en.pdf. Accessed April 6, 2018. Published 2016.
  18. Torjesen I. Exclusive: Partnering with alcohol industry on public health is not okay, WHO says. BMJ. 2019;365:1666. doi:1610.1136/bmj.l1666
International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Volume 8, Issue 10
October 2019
Pages 607-609

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics