ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health2026
Addressing Legal Risks in Public Health Communication Campaigns.
Review in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The literature on the Commercial Determinants of Health has primarily focused on the political power and interventions of corporations versus countermeasures by civil society. However, there is a gap in the discourse concerning industry use of legal threats and actions to silence public health organizations and their public health communication campaigns (PHCCs). This legal review aims to understand legal challenges brought against PHCCs and provide best practices for effective campaigns while minimizing legal risk. We used jurisprudence in Mexico and the United States as proxies for civil and common law countries, supplemented by international law and principles to identify the best defenses and mitigation strategies against defamation and trademark infringement actions. Legal frameworks in these countries demonstrate the ability of aggressive evidence-based public health campaigns to withstand these legal challenges. Based on these legal protections, we recommend that advocates implement PHCCs that (1) contain facts that are true and substantiated with evidence, (2) frame messaging as opinion or satire, (3) highlight the non-commercial purpose of informing people about the impact of their consumption choices on health and well-being and (4) explain how the messaging advances the rights to health and access to information. A PHCC's success in court can also set important precedents regarding the right of advocates to disseminate and the right of populations to receive important health messages. Following these recommendations and best practices, health advocates can minimize legal risk and continue to provide effective evidence-based PHCCs that promote and protect public health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.