Sunimalee Madurawala highlights how industries negatively influence public health policies

December 3-5, 2024

IPS Research Economist Sunimalee Madurawala highlighted that industries such as sugar-sweetened beverages, tobacco, and alcohol employ various strategies that challenge the implementation of public health policies, affecting their overall effectiveness.

Her presentation drew on three different studies conducted by IPS in the recent past, which revealed how these different industries use strategies such as lobbying, aggressive marketing, the reformulation and the introduction of new products, and indirect marketing disguised as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects for tobacco and alcohol products, which influence public health policies.

Ms Madurawala suggested that unethical practices by these industries should be exposed to maintain transparency and accountability and ensure that these industries’ activities aligned with public health goals.

She made these remarks at a rapid-fire presentation titled “From Policy to Practice: Understanding Industry Influence on Healthier Food Environments in Sri Lanka,” which was part of Thematic Session 2b: Natural and built food environments, at the 2024 edition of “Delivering for Nutrition in South Asia: Connecting the dots across systems” (D4N 2024).