New book published on the commercial determinants of health

SPECTRUM researchers contribute to book on the commercial determinants of health, launching on 25 October in the US and 12 December in the UK.

26 October 2022

A pioneering new book, featuring contributions from a wide range of authors including a number of SPECTRUM researchers, will shed light on how commercial determinants shape health directly and indirectly through influencing policy, evidence, and discourse.

Consolidating commercial determinants

Until recently, commercial determinants have remained largely absent from our conceptual understanding of the drivers of health. The scale of their potential impact necessitates a multidisciplinary and intersectional approach, but no book has yet explored the commercial impacts on health in their totality.

Edited by SPECTRUM’s Dr Nason Maani and Professor Mark Petticrew, alongside Professor Sandro Galea, this is the first book to consolidate the commercial determinants of health as a distinct research and policy topic across sectors.

Featuring SPECTRUM authors

The book is broken into six sections covering the importance of the commercial determinants of health, how they shape upstream drivers of health, case studies of a range of industries from tobacco to fossil fuels, cross-industry mechanisms, a section on advancing science and scholarship on the topic, and ends with possible ways forward for researchers and policy makers.

SPECTRUM authors' contributions include chapters on the fossil fuel industry, how commercial actors shape science, complex systems perspectives, and conflicts of interest.

This much needed and unprecedented resource tackles the 'elephant in the room'—the dramatic impacts of for-profit enterprises on global health. As a World Health Organization priority area, these commercial determinants of health must be understood and addressed to improve health, wellbeing, and equity. This book's depth and scope across geographies, populations, and industries is a valuable resource. I encourage anyone working in global health or interested in how industries impact the world around us to read it and apply its messages.

Etienne Krug Director, Social Determinants, World Health Organization
Publication date