How do powerful industries shape what we believe about health risks—and what we don't? Dr. Nason Maani, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Inequalities and Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh, has spent years uncovering how commercial interests influence public health understanding.

Salma and Nason tackle the commercial determinants of health framework, moving beyond the typical focus on individual choices to examine the systems that shape those choices. They dig into Nason's "Manufacturing Doubt" paper, which investigated how industries weaponize uncertainty against public health evidence—using “alternative causation” arguments. The conversation explores the methodological challenges of researching corporate actors and the need to translate evidence about commercial influence into effective policy action.

This episode challenges listeners to consider whether our focus on individual behavior change might be missing the bigger picture of who benefits from keeping populations unhealthy. How have you seen commercial interests shape health discussions in your field?

Useful resources

• Maani N, Van Schalkwyk MCI, Filippidis FT, Knai C, Petticrew M. Manufacturing doubt: Assessing the effects of independent vs industry-sponsored messaging about the harms of fossil fuels, smoking, alcohol, and sugar sweetened beverages. SSM - Population Health. 2022;17:101009. doi:1016/j.ssmph.2021.101009
• Maani N, Petticrew M, Galea S, eds. The Commercial Determinants of Health. Oxford University Press; 2022. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-commercial-determinants-of-health-9780197578759?cc=us&lang=en&
• Money, Power, Health with Nason Maani (podcast):
  • https://anchor.fm/s/b50fce1c/podcast/rss
  • https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/money-power-health-with-nason-maani/id1667592518
  • https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Aa2qRUtfM0eVUYNxF6Bvf

Host: Dr. Salma Abdalla Editors: Catalina Melendez Contreras and Zachary Linhares Music: Eden Avery / Melting Glass from Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/2fqOXWpHab/