Commercial Determinants of Health, or CDOH, is a term new to me, although as it turns out, it’s already part of the official World Health Organization lexicon, along with Social Determinants of Health.
Brief definition: “…private sector activities that affect people’s health, directly or indirectly, positively or negatively.”
In practice, the impact of commercial activities on health is mostly negative, and stems from the pursuit of profit by individuals and corporations. Given the never-ending quest for financial rewards, poor consumer health can be viewed as collateral damage.
Here’s a link to a bulletin from WHO on the subject:
Examples of CDoH in action are almost too numerous to name. But consider this: “…in 2019, approximately one third of global deaths were caused by tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods and fossil fuels.” All four are all considered CDoH.
Or as one review concluded, “Profit-driven practices of health-harmful commercial actors, such as aggressive marketing, directly encourage excessive consumption, increase exposure to health risks, and worsen health outcomes; they also indirectly influence policy in ways that weaken effective health protections.”
CDoH includes the black market as well. An estimated 86% of vapes sold in the US are actually illegal, often Chinese in origin, and frequently contain toxic adulterants with adverse effects on health. Worse yet, some 43% of those used by underage kids are the illegal variety, even though they were purchased in convenience stores and other common outlets.
The public is urged to consider “…how commercial actors shape markets, norms and policy processes in ways that influence health…” To protect their own interests, I imagine.
Of course, the United States, at the instigation of the White House, recently dropped its membership in the World Health Organization, so maybe we won’t see many references to CDoH in our media. But I’d be surprised if the concept doesn’t find widespread acceptance in the scientific community.
It just makes too much sense to be ignored.
