The paper examines how conflicts of interest (COIs) in public health research are often inadequately addressed through disclosure alone and describes the development of a more robust COI policy for a large, multi‑institutional research consortium. Using a reflective case study approach, the authors document the practical steps, challenges, and considerations involved in creating and implementing this policy within a project focused on the commercial determinants of health. The paper offers actionable guidance to strengthen research governance and better safeguard the integrity of collaborative public health research

This Commission identifies that three interconnected global threats, non-communicable diseases, infectious disease outbreaks, and environmental degradation, continue to worsen despite international commitments. These threats share underlying drivers rooted in political and economic systems that prioritise growth over health and sustainability, disproportionately harming people in low-income settings. To address this, authors examined the physical environment and transport, agriculture and food, and energy systems, developing ten objectives and evidence‑based recommendations through reviews, expert input, and economic modelling. Their findings highlight how intertwined factors, such as land clearing for palm oil, unhealthy diets, ecosystem destruction, and climate change, simultaneously fuel disease and environmental crises. The Commission emphasises that meaningful progress requires transforming the environments that shape population behaviour, rather than relying on individual choice, and calls for governments and businesses to take systemic action. Their priority recommendations focus on replacing harmful policies, strengthening institutions and civil society, and building capacity for integrated responses, with measurable progress needed by 2030.

Climate change is weakening the political, economic, social, and technological systems needed for effective health governance, forcing governments to divert resources toward emergency responses and creating vulnerabilities that commercial actors can exploit. Dan Hunt and Dr Britta Matthes highlight that this destabilisation enables corporate influence over health policy, particularly as climate driven economic insecurity affects GDP, employment, and supply chains. The paper reveals how some commercial actors take advantage of these conditions—for example through casualised labour or raising prices for essential medicines during crises—and notes that over 70% of post industrial CO₂ emissions originate from just 78 corporate and state entities. It also emphasises the longstanding denial and delay strategies used by fossil fuel, plastics, and agrichemical industries to obstruct climate policy.

New research by the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group reveals that flue cured Virginia tobacco production in Zimbabwe causes severe environmental and economic harm, including the annual destruction of around 60,000 hectares of Miombo woodland and economic conditions that trap smallholder farmers in dependence on tobacco companies. The study explains that farmers rely on contracts that provide loans for agrochemicals but limit them to selling only to the contracting company, which controls prices and keeps earnings too low for farmers to protect woodlands or diversify into other crops. The curing process itself requires large amounts of wood fuel and contributes to climate change, while tobacco companies promote an image of sustainability that does not reflect the reality experienced by farmers.

Researchers at the University of Bath have produced a series of short, evidence based films to help parents navigate sensitive conversations with children about weight, offering practical strategies drawn from lived experiences. The videos build on a written guide led by Professor Fiona Gillison and created with input from parents, healthcare professionals, charities, and academics, forming the first evidence based resources designed for both parents and clinicians. These materials aim to reduce parents’ fear of causing harm, provide clear guidance on when and how to talk about weight, and support children who may be worried about their weight or experiencing bullying. Clinicians involved highlight the importance of sensitive, skilful conversations to avoid shame while ensuring children receive support.

This paper investigates whether the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging in the UK led to an increase in illicit tobacco use, as the tobacco industry has long claimed. Using four waves of data from a longitudinal online survey (one wave before standardised packaging in 2016 and three after in 2017, 2019, and 2022), the study finds no evidence of increased illicit tobacco purchasing following the policy change. In fact, reports of buying illicit cigarettes or roll your own tobacco were slightly lower in 2019 and 2022 compared with 2016. Among those who did use illicit products, key reasons included low cost, high availability, and opportunism, while very few cited attractive packaging as a motivating factor either before or after the shift to standardised packs.