International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

How Could We Establish Monitoring and Surveillance of Health-Harming Corporations and Can Governments Be Trusted to Do It?; Comment on “National Public Health Surveillance of Corporations in Key Unhealthy Commodity Industries – A Scoping Review and Framework Synthesis”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors
Anna B. Gilmore 1, 2
Raouf Alebshehy 1
Stella Bialous 3, 4
1 Tobacco Control Research Group, Department for Health, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, UK
2 Centre for 21st Century Public Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK
3 School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
4 Global Cancer Program, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
10.34172/ijhpm.8621
Abstract
In the context of growing interest in the commercial determinants of health (CDOH) which has been defined as “the systems, practices, and pathways through which commercial actors drive health and equity,” Bennett et al propose that governments implement monitoring of unhealthy commodity industries (UCIs) (including tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods) as part of their routine public health surveillance. We explore the evidence underpinning that suggestion and provide details on how corporate monitoring might be practically implemented drawing on lessons from tobacco industry monitoring which has been an established part of tobacco control. While governments should actively support such an approach as part of efforts to address commercially driven health harms, we urge caution in governments undertaking monitoring and identify significant barriers to implementation, while also suggesting ways in which those barriers might be overcome. 
Keywords
Commercial Determinants of Health
Surveillance
Unhealthy Commodity Industry
Industry Monitoring
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 13, Issue 1
2024
Pages 1-5

  • Received Date 04 June 2024
  • Revised Date 30 August 2024
  • Accepted Date 31 August 2024
  • First Published Date 01 September 2024
  • Published Date 01 December 2024