Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP)

@elliefichera.bsky.social @spidermaani.bsky.social @carolinecerny.bsky.social @geoffbates.bsky.social @phiuk.bsky.social

Local Health and Global Profits responds to Government’s Men’s Health Strategy Local Health and Global Profits responds to Government’s Men’s Health Strategy

Last week's unveiling of England's first Men's Health Strategy is welcome, but without tackling commercial determinants of health - the industries profiting from harmful products that disproportionately affect men - we'll only address symptoms, not root causes.

www.phiuk.org/news/local-h...

@lhgp.bsky.social @healthyurbanplaces.bsky.social @healthmod.bsky.social @kingscsmh.bsky.social @jdasmunshi.bsky.social @manchester.ac.uk
@ulsteruni-edi.bsky.social @swanseauni.bsky.social
@ucl.ac.uk

Soft drink levy extended to protect children and improve health The government has announced an extension of the soft drinks industry levy to more high-sugar drinks, including milk-based drinks.

🔥 Hot Off the Press - Soft Drinks Industry Levy to be Expanded to Protect Children and Boost Nation’s Health 🔥

The levy will now cover sugary milk-based drinks and lowers the sugar threshold from 5g to 4.5g per 100ml.

Read the press release here ➡️ www.gov.uk/government/n...

LHGP team at the European Public Health Conference

Our November newsletter went out today and it features compelling new #research exposing industry influence, practical resources for healthy urban planning, and ways you can engage with our work.

Read more: mailchi.mp/98c307e23470...

Sign up: mailchi.mp/22e2b19466f0...

👉 Join them if you are there, follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky, and sign up to our mailing list for updates on our research into how businesses shape public health – the commercial determinants of health: mailchi.mp/22e2b19466f0...

Amber van den Akker and Geoff Bates sit at the LHGP stand with leaflets and booklets.

Live from @adphuk.bsky.social annual conference! @ambervandenakker.bsky.social, Research Associate, and @geoffbates.bsky.social , Co-Investigator, are welcoming people to the Local Health and Global Profits stand.

#ADPHConf2025

What if councils could test climate policies before implementing them? Andrea Castaño, Research Associate @lhgp.bsky.social, has written a blog for @ukdataservice.bsky.social on how synthetic populations can transform local #CimatePolicy

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/synthetic-da...

#GreenSky

@elliefichera.bsky.social @spidermaani.bsky.social @carolinecerny.bsky.social @geoffbates.bsky.social @phiuk.bsky.social @uniofbath.bsky.social

Follow up webinar, MMS Symposium 2025, 25 November at 11:00 - 12:00. Register now: From Understanding to Action: Commercial Determinants of Health in Practice: With Amber van den Akker, University ot Bath

Join @ambervandenakker.bsky.social, Research Associate with @lhgp.bsky.social, on Tuesday 25 November for a #webinar on understanding and acting on commercial determinants of health in practice, hosted by Medicus Mundi Switzerland.

Register now: exciting-leader-6110.kit.com/2dbb5b1bd9

Launch of UK Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025 - Tobacco Tactics A new report led by members of the Tobacco Control Research Group examines the extent to which UK policy making is protected against the vested interests of the tobacco industry, based on evidence cap...

Japan Tobacco International’s name was quietly removed from the Museum’s website last week - the same day that a new report by @tcrgbath.bsky.social highlighted how the deal formed part of JTI’s wider influence & lobbying strategy. www.tobaccotactics.org/news/launch-...

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We have requested our complaint be reviewed and upheld, citing:

• Lack of balanced perspectives on tobacco policy
• Timing during scrutiny of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill
• Insufficient challenge to BAT's claims

📄 Read our full escalation letter below.

@tcrgbath.bsky.social @lhgp.bsky.social

Unmasking Influence - Full Documentary Film Unmasking influence is about how commercial actors influence policy and public health. Many of the major public health crises we face today are largely driven by…

Many of today's major public health crises are driven by powerful corporations. "Unmasking Influence" – a new documentary from @lshtm.bsky.social and Wildfire Collective and – pulls back the curtain on how industries shape science, policy, and public perception.

Watch free: vimeo.com/1131660477

A cautionary tale from alcohol harm colleagues about govt & industry partnerships...
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📢Excited to say that registration is open for Prevention Research 2026, 4-5 March, Birmingham. Visit preventionresearch26.co.uk to book your place and explore the latest research and strategies for preventing non-communicable diseases and reducing health inequalities across the UK.

The ASH team are back in Parliament this afternoon for another debate session on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which will cover vape devices and the marketing of nicotine products.

@elliefichera.bsky.social @carolinecerny.bsky.social @geoffbates.bsky.social @aha-uk.bsky.social

In @bmj.com, @spidermaani.bsky.social, @maizie333.bsky.social, and @markpetticrew.bsky.social highlight the £27.44bn annual cost of alcohol harms in England and the lack of transparency in the government’s licensing review.

Proposed changes to alcohol licensing should make us question whose interests we’re serving in the name of growth Increasing the consumption of harmful products is the opposite of healthy or productive growth, say Nason Maani and colleagues Preventable ill health is at the heart of the challenges facing this co...

“Liberalising licensing is not a neutral act. It prioritises commercial interests and shifts costs to overstretched health and social care systems.”

Read more: www.bmj.com/content/391/...

#PublicHealth #HealthPolicy #AlcoholPolicy #CommercialDeterminants

Join us for all this and more at the Vox Birmingham, 4-5 March 2026. preventionresearch26.co.uk #preventionresearch26
@healthyurbanplaces.bsky.social @lhgp.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social

Image of Barbara Crowther, Sustain Campaign Manager, next to a quote: "We spend around £5bn a year on public sector food – 60% of that is on our schools. How much of that is really benefiting our local economy and our British farmers? If there is a big investment in school breakfast clubs, let’s make sure that investment delivers for children’s health and let’s make sure we leverage the economic benefit for the entire community."

PM Starmer championed #SchoolFood role in tackling #ChildPoverty on ITV's Lorraine today. But are the government's breakfast club partnerships really delivering for children and communities?

Read our guest blog post from @barbscrowther.bsky.social at @sustainweb.org

www.phiuk.org/news/blog-wh...

@elliefichera.bsky.social , @spidermaani.bsky.social, @carolinecerny.bsky.social , @geoffbates.bsky.social , @aha-uk.bsky.social

The response argues that the proposed reforms represent a dangerous shift away from public protection towards facilitating economic growth for the alcohol industry, and highlights serious concerns about the consultation process.

#PublicHealth #AlcoholHarm #HealthEquity

Local Health and Global Profits urges UK government to prioritise public health over industry profits Local Health and Global Profits urges UK government to prioritise public health over industry profits

Local Health and Global Profits has submitted a comprehensive response to the UK government's call for evidence on reforming the licensing system.

www.phiuk.org/news/local-h...

@elliefichera.bsky.social @spidermaani.bsky.social @carolinecerny.bsky.social @geoffbates.bsky.social

Cover of EuroHealth with title: Investing for sustainable health and well-being

"Tackling the political and commercial determinants of health is no longer a technocratic exercise; it has become a geopolitical imperative," write LHGP director Anna Gilmore and co-authors in an article published in a special issue of EuroHealth.

eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications...

2025 Report Visual Summary - Lancet Countdown

- The top 100 oil and gas companies are set to exceed their allowable emissions under the Paris Agreement by 189% by 2040.

Access a visual summary: lancetcountdown.org/2025-report-...

- 15 countries spent more on fossil fuel subsidies in 2022 than their entire national health budgets.

- The transport industry is the biggest contributor to premature deaths from PM2.5 air pollution in 2022 globally (1.2m deaths) and in Europe (130k deaths).

A summary of headline statistics on the commercial determinants of health, from the 2025 Global Report of the Lancet Countdown.

Our PhD researcher Daniel Hunt attended the launch of the 2025 Global Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change yesterday.

@lancetcountdown.bsky.social

#PublicHealth #Greensky

Below are some sobering facts from that report:

Published today in recognition of #WorldCitiesDay, this guide outlines the case for prioritising urban health from epidemiologic, economic, equity, and sustainability perspectives.

@who.int @thrivingplaces.bsky.social