ThaiHealth Urges Focus on Commercial Health Factors at NCDH 2026
ThaiHealth urged a better understanding of how commercial factors influence health at the National Academic Conference on Commercial Determinants of Health 2026. Officials noted that non‑communicable diseases cause about 400,000 deaths yearly in Thailand, stressing the need to address marketing, trade policies and business practices alongside individual behavior. The conference aims to generate policy proposals and encourage healthier products and services through cross‑sector collaboration.
When factors determining people's health are not solely from individual behavior but also linked to products, marketing, trade policies, economic environment, and business practices, understanding commercial determinants of health (CDoH) has become a key task for health promotion in the present era.
This issue was taken up for discussion at the National Academic Conference on Commercial Determinants of Health 2026 (NCDH 2026), which opened a space for various sectors to exchange knowledge and academic perspectives to understand factors affecting health from behavior level to policies and economic structures, while seeking ways to create environments conducive to public well-being.
Dr. Pongthep Wongwatcharapaibul, Manager of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), said that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a major problem in Thailand. According to Ministry of Public Health data for 2026, about 400,000 Thais die from these diseases each year, or 81% of total deaths, with risk factors including tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and foods high in fat, salt, or sugar, plus marketing strategies that stimulate consumption. Solving the problem is not just about adjusting individual behavior but also managing commercial factors and environments that affect health in tandem.
ThaiHealth has been driving health promotion work under the concept of 'Build, Lead, Repair' by focusing on disease prevention before illness occurs. One important mechanism is collecting an additional 2% excise tax on alcohol and tobacco, known as the 'sin tax' (Earmarked Tax), to fund health promotion efforts while working with partner networks to create health-supportive environments.
This approach extends to the NCDH 2026 conference, where ThaiHealth and its partners aim to increase understanding of commercial determinants of health, exchange ways to reduce risks, and encourage businesses to develop health‑conscious products and services. The goal is for all sectors to jointly create fair access to healthy options and to expand cooperation to the international level.
Dr. Pongthep added, 'The aim of the NCDH 2026 conference is to build on knowledge and lessons from our work into concrete proposals that all sectors can implement—reducing risks from commercial activities, giving businesses incentives to develop health‑friendly products and services, and together creating an ecosystem that offers equitable healthy choices, while expanding cooperation internationally.'
Dr. Suthep Petchmark, Secretary‑General of the National Health Commission (NHC), noted that besides working with businesses and networks, pushing health proposals into policy is another key mechanism. The NHC supports public health policy under the National Health Act, B.E. 2550 (2007), which links to the NCDH 2026 conference through organizing a special‑topic health assembly on managing commercial factors for public well‑being, opening space for the public, government, academia, and relevant sectors to exchange knowledge and develop policy proposals.
However, proposals from this process must be considered and approved as a resolution of the special‑topic health assembly before being submitted to the National Health Commission and the Cabinet for consideration.
