Lessons learned from local, national and global campaigns to change alcohol, food and beverage and tobacco industries influence on health education

The alcohol, tobacco and food and beverage industries have become the leading global providers of public information about their products and their effects on health, spending far more than governments or public health agencies to disseminate messages to consumers. In 2011, the United Nations and the World Health Organization recognized non-communicable diseases(NCDs) as the primary health threat of the 21st century in both developed and developing nations. WHO also identified alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food as primary drivers of these increases. Following presentations on the roles of the tobacco, alcohol and food industry in marketing products and lifestyles that contribute to NCDs, this presentation will analyze the key lessons learned from recent local, national and global health campaigns to alter the marketing and educational practices of these industries. It will assess the effectiveness of strategies such as corporate partnerships, voluntary and mandatory marketing standards, counter-advertising, and calls for corporate social responsibility within and across the three industries. Finally, the session will propose roles that health educators and their professional organizations can play in the development of ethical and effective responses to corporate influences on alcohol, nutrition and tobacco education.