political considerations when monitoring the commercial determinants of health; comment on “national public health surveillance of corporations in key unhealthy commodity industries – a scoping review and framework synthesis”

Better intelligence about how commercial actors influence health and equity is crucial to advance public health policies that prioritise people over profits. the “template surveillance system” proposed by bennett and colleagues presents a useful step towards increasing our knowledge about the practices of commercial actors and monitoring potentially harmful activities. yet practical considerations around what sectors or commercial practices are prioritised, how we gather this intelligence, and who “owns” or funds surveillance initiatives bring to the fore political challenges with this work. here, we reflect on our own experience researching corporate political activities (such as lobbying) to present recommendations for advancing the “template surveillance system” proposed by bennett and colleagues.