Commercial interests a barrier to promoting health in Europe, Belgium reiterates

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Delays in updating European Council recommendations on smoke-free environments were called out by Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, as he addressed the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI Committee) on 29 January 2024. Belgium, which holds the European Union (EU) presidency until June 2024, is committed to strengthening the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) through the actions outlined in the EU Beating Cancer Plan.

Minister Vandenbroucke, who leads discussions on the country's health portfolio, pointed the finger at powerful industry interference delaying EU policies. "Let's call a spade a spade; these actions have been undermined by powerful industry interests at the cost of Europeans' health," he said.

At an event to mark World Cancer Day on 31 January 2024, Minister Vandenbroucke again emphasized the need to tackle commercial determinants, urging, "We must integrate the perspective of the commercial determinants into our discussions and start a much more open, but nuanced, discussion on the impact of private players on health."

Protecting public health policies

Commercial and vested interests benefiting a few have been a longstanding issue delaying NCD prevention policies that improve the health of the masses. The Fourth High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, due to take place in September 2025, is fast approaching. However, many countries in the WHO European Region are falling behind in reaching NCD Global Monitoring Framework targets, which are also aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.4: "Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being."

Commercial interests present a major barrier, which calls for a solution that mandates multicountry partnerships and broader discussions with other UN organizations, the European Commission, civil society, academia and other key stakeholders.

Industry benefits from harms they cause

This impact of industry harming health was reiterated by Mark Petticrew, Professor of Public Health Evaluation at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who said, "These harmful industries profit from the harms they cause, driving high rates of mortality and morbidity and creating and profiting from inequalities. They then expect governments, the public and health services to pick up the bill. NCD prevention depends on restricting the ability of commercial actors to cause such harms, and the evidence-based polices to prevent them already exist and there is a pressing need to implement them now."

WHO/Europe stands committed to working with Member States and key stakeholders to ensure that they are supported in implementing NCD prevention strategies. In the words of Gauden Galea, Strategic Advisor to the Regional Director and head of the Special Initiative on NCDs and Innovation, "Big tobacco, big alcohol and the health-harming food industry are much larger and more powerful and influential now than ever before. This calls for strategic efforts that cumulatively protect public health practices. We need to hold commercial industry responsible for the harms they cause across the whole continuum, from NCD prevention to treatment."

There is no need to reinvent the wheel: the "best buy" policies are sufficiently evidence-based to provide the necessary solutions - all that is needed now is their effective implementation to overcome the major barriers.

Civil society plays an important role in raising awareness and bringing these difficult topics to the fore. Caroline Costongs, Director of EuroHealthNet, points out EU policy delays, calling them clearly unacceptable. "Multinational corporations prioritize growth and profit over our health and well-being and there is no excuse for governments not to push back," she said. "They need the tools and capacities to do so, and to work together, including with civil society, which has a crucial role to play. The EU has the policy instruments to support this, and I expect the upcoming EU legislative agenda to enable more assertive measures against these commercial interests."

Acknowledging this, WHO/Europe is consulting with Member States and experts to collect evidence and identify solutions to tackle the commercial determinants of health that affect policies related to NCDs. The goal is to produce a publication that will serve as a foundation for the support planned by Member States through a subsequent regional consultation.