TY - JOUR T1 - Recognising the elephant in the room: the commercial determinants of health JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007156 VL - 7 IS - 2 SP - e007156 AU - Cassandra de Lacy-Vawdon AU - Brian Vandenberg AU - Charles Henry Livingstone Y1 - 2022/02/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/7/2/e007156.abstract N2 - Summary boxThe discourse and terminology of ‘Commercial determinants of health’ should be used in preference to other similar terminology, and should be broadly applied when examining any aspect of population health where there are clear links between commercial and/or corporate forces and health.Systems of power are fundamental to and reinforce the commercial determinants of health. These require recognition and consideration within the commercial determinants of health context, particularly where populations are exposed to risk factors, and other vectors of harm.Commercial determinants of health should themselves be recognised as reflexive systems, and systems approaches should be prioritised in interventions seeking to improve population health.Commercial determinants of health definition(s) should recognise potential for both harms and benefits, and the multidirectionality of commercial determinants of health as risk and protective factors. However, reducing and preventing harms should remain the primary focus.To counteract global growth in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the health consequences of climate and environmental emergencies, and inequity in health, it is necessary to better understand fundamental influences on health, and recognise how these differ within and between populations. Social determinants of health (SDoH) studies provide understanding of how inequality shapes health. However, we understand less about how capitalism, globalised corporate and commercial systems and broader political–economic and global governance conditions facilitating these, directly and indirectly shape inequality and health. As these systems have profound influence over population health and social circumstances,1 understandings of commercial determinants of health (CDoH), and integrating these conceptually within SDoH, are crucial.2CDoH represent a significant global health concern for a number of reasons. Due to the globalised nature of modern commerce, and the transnational presence of commercial actors, the effects of CDoH are felt the world over.3 4 These are facilitated by the weakening of global governance structures such as the … ER -