WHO accuses food, tobacco, and alcohol giants of blocking ?

Pressure from tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food companies is stopping governments from putting in place life-saving health policies, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The United Nations will dedicate a day to tackling non-communicable diseases, like cancer and heart disease, next Thursday during its annual gathering in New York. The WHO, the UN’s health agency, says the products contribute to such conditions.

In a separate report, the WHO found that $3 per person invested by governments on non-communicable diseases could save more than 12 million lives and generate $1 trillion in savings by 2030.

WHO SAYS GOVERNMENTS OFTEN FACE INTENSE LOBBYING

But the WHO’s statement said that governments often face intense lobbying from industries trying to block, weaken or delay policies, ranging from health taxes to marketing restrictions for children.

“Often, governments face fierce opposition from industries that profit from unhealthy products,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing on Thursday.

Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s department of health determinants, promotion and prevention, said: “It is unacceptable that commercial interests are profiting from increasing deaths and disease.”

Representatives of the food, tobacco and alcohol industries rejected that characterisation, telling Reuters they welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the discussion over how to reduce harm, and that dialogue was important.

At the UN meeting, governments are set to agree to new targets on non-communicable diseases and a roadmap of how to get there, but health groups have warned that the draft of the political declaration has already been watered down.