Commercial determinants of health

Abstract

The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age. Commercial determinants of health are a key social determinant, and refer to the strategies and practices carried by commercial actors that affect health. (1)  Although commercial entities can contribute positively to health and society, there is growing evidence that the products and practices of some commercial actors can affect human and planetary health. (1)

Unhealthy commodity industries have driven many of the world’s greatest health problems, such as the increase of chronic non-communicable diseases and the climate emergency. (4) (5)

Chronic non-communicable diseases are responsible for 74% of deaths worldwide (WHO 2023) and 90% in Europe (WHO 2021). (2)   Four industries are the main players: alcohol, tobacco, ultra-processed foods and fossil fuels. However, other industrial sectors, previously considered as harmless, can also cause health damage (for example, social media on mental health). (3)(5)

The aim of this work is to show the pathological system created by the transnational industries that put their profits ahead of human health and the environment through a variety of strategies. (3)(5)  In this paper, several control measures are proposed to deal with this. (7)

Key words: Social determinants of Health, Commercial determinants of Health, Non-communicable Disease, Food-Processing Industry, Drug Industry, Tobacco Industry