Reducing the Role of the Food, Tobacco, and Alcohol Industries in Noncommunicable Disease Risk in South Africa

Abstract

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) impose a growing burden on the health, economy, and development of South Africa. According to the World Health Organization, four risk factors, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity, account for a significant proportion of major NCDs. We analyze the role of tobacco, alcohol, and food corporations in promoting NCD risk and unhealthy lifestyles in South Africa and in exacerbating inequities in NCD distribution among populations. Through their business practices such as product design, marketing, retail distribution, and pricing and their business practices such as lobbying, public relations, philanthropy, and sponsored research, national and transnational corporations in South Africa shape the social and physical environments that structure opportunities for NCD risk behavior. Since the election of a democratic government in 1994, the South African government and civil society groups have used regulation, public education, health services, and community mobilization to modify corporate practices that increase NCD risk. By expanding the practice of health education to include activities that seek to modify the practices of corporations as well as individuals, South Africa can reduce the growing burden of NCDs.

Defining the commercial determinants of health: a systematic review

“…Many activities, such as marketing [8,48,49], CSR [8,48], and, CPA [7,49,50] have been well-documented for their influence on behaviors and health. However, these have largely been studied in isolation, without considering the broader social, economic and political conditions facilitating them, and, at times, without regard for associated outcomes.…”

"Big" Food, Tobacco, and Alcohol: Reducing Industry Influence on Noncommunicable Disease Prevention Laws and Policies Comment on "Addressing NCDs: Challenges From Industry Market Promotion and Interferences"

“…As the authors note, all three industries use a “playbook” of similar tactics to avert effective public health interventions, 12 with a growing body of evidence demonstrating their use in emerging as well as developed countries. 2,13,14…”

Tobacco industry globalization and global health governance: towards an interdisciplinary research agenda

“…Most papers describe how TTCs undermined national-level tobacco control policies in Europe (Hilamo, 2003; Szilagyi and Chapman, 2003a, 2004; Gilmore et al ., 2007; Krasovsky, 2010; Shrinae et al ., 2012; Lunze and Migliorini, 2013; Skafida et al ., 2014), Asia (Chantornvong et al ., 2000; Knight and Chapman, 2004a; MacKenzie et al ., 2004; Tong and Glantz, 2004; Zhong and Yano, 2007; MacKenzie and Collin, 2008; Muggli et al ., 2008; Charoenca et al ., 2012), the Middle East (Nakkash and Lee, 2009), Latin America (Sebrie et al ., 2005, 2009; Holden and Lee, 2011) and Africa (Curry and Ray, 1984; Stebbins, 1987; Otanez et al ., 2009; Delobelle et al ., 2016). A few studies focus on policy influence at the regional and global levels through industry bodies (Ong and Glantz, 2000; McDaniel et al ., 2008), trade and investment agreements (Holden and Lee, 2011; Fooks and Gilmore, 2013; Crosbie et al ., 2014; Eckhardt et al ., 2015), public health bodies (Weishaar et al ., 2012; Peeters et al ., 2016; Smith et al ., 2016b) and religious groups (Petticrew et al ., 2015).…”

“…(2013) describe transnational corporations as “major drivers of global epidemics of NCDs”, including the “sale and promotion of tobacco” in LMICs. This has been achieved through sophisticated marketing strategies promoting western lifestyles, and developing products for new markets (Szilagyi and Chapman, 2004; Hafez and Ling, 2005; Gilmore, 2012; Delobelle et al ., 2016). Marshall (1991) attributes the shift in Oceanic island countries since the 1980s, from “home-grown and twist tobacco” to commercially manufactured cigarettes, to aggressive marketing.…”