Tobacco, Alcohol, and Processed Food Industries a?? Why Do Public Health Practitioners View Them So Differently?

摘要

The epidemiological transition, the shift from infectious to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), is well advanced in most European countries. Viewed from one perspective, we can understand this by focusing on changes to people’s lifestyles and behaviors. However, a contrasting view draws attention to broader, social and environmental features that are unfavorable to health. The World Health Organization (WHO) slogan “Make the healthy choice the easier choice” attempts to bridge these two views. It not only recognizes the choices that individuals have in consuming healthier products or taking exercise but also seems to acknowledge that consumer “choices” are heavily influenced by other factors beyond the individual’s power. Among these factors are the strategies that corporations pursue to make unhealthy choices more likely. Thus, public health is inevitably confronted with the question of how to interact with commercial interests when it comes to tackling the NCD epidemic.