In recent years, public attention has shifted from contagious diseases alone to another kind of epidemic — one fueled by profit-driven industries selling products that harm health. This “market-driven epidemic” now reaches across various sectors, where common products are known to cause health crises. In 2023, for instance, 42 state attorneys general took action against Meta, urging it to eliminate Instagram features that Meta’s own studies linked to harm in teenage girls. A report from Sandy Hook Promise the same year highlighted how gun manufacturers market to younger audiences, using vibrant ads and video game placements to normalize their products. And in anticipation of the Paris Olympics, a respected international health journal encouraged the International Olympic Committee to cut ties with Coca-Cola, emphasizing the health dangers of sugary beverages, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Each of these industries — social media, firearms, sugar-sweetened beverages — embodies a market-driven epidemic, where health risks emerge from products sold by corporations. These epidemics often follow a predictable cycle: companies introduce an enticing product, demand rises, and over time, evidence of its harm emerges. Yet even as knowledge of the damage grows, sales increase, often protected by industry resistance against health campaigns and regulatory actions.
Across several industries, we see this pattern today. Social media platforms, ultra-processed foods, sugar-laden drinks, firearms, opioids, alcohol, and tobacco all continue to lead to negative health outcomes, accounting collectively for over a million deaths annually in the U.S.
Combating Commercial Epidemics: Lessons from History
Can the consumption of harmful products be reduced on a large scale? History says yes, but it takes deliberate, sustained action. Examining public health efforts in areas like smoking, sugar, and prescription opioids reveals a potential roadmap. Despite initial industry resistance, these campaigns eventually shifted public behavior, each triggered by a tipping point.
For cigarettes, the tipping point came in 1964 when the U.S. surgeon general formally declared smoking’s link to cancer. This report, backed by clear scientific evidence, reframed smoking from a social norm to a major health risk, and it helped shift public perception almost overnight. Today, just one in nine American adults smokes, a significant drop from nearly half in the mid-1950s.
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In the case of sugar, a pivotal 1999 petition titled “America: Drowning In Sugar,” organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, pressed the FDA to label added sugars on food packages, giving Americans a clear understanding of sugar’s prevalence in their diets. The results have been telling: sugar consumption in the U.S. has dropped by over 15 pounds per person since then, reducing the amount added to diets between 1950 and 2000 by nearly half.
When it came to prescription opioids, the 2011 CDC declaration of an opioid epidemic directly challenged doctors and the pharmaceutical industry, emphasizing the need for responsibility in prescribing these drugs. This acknowledgment prompted significant changes in prescription habits, leading to a 60% reduction in opioid prescriptions.
What We Can Learn from These Victories
While there are no quick fixes for modern commercial epidemics, historical successes provide valuable strategies. First, authoritative voices — like government agencies or trusted organizations — can be powerful in shifting public perception, as they did in the anti-smoking campaign. Second, informed guidance on avoiding harmful products can help consumers make healthier choices, as seen with food labeling efforts that brought attention to sugar’s impact on health. Finally, targeting decision-makers, such as doctors in the opioid epidemic, can encourage critical changes in consumption that may not happen with consumers alone.
Yet, emerging challenges remind us that public health efforts must adapt to new products and industry strategies. As smoking has declined, nicotine companies have shifted to vaping and other delivery products, appealing especially to younger audiences. Gun-related deaths, especially among youth, are on the rise, with firearms now the leading cause of death for Americans under 18. Meanwhile, ultra-processed foods account for over half of the average American diet, posing risks that the food industry continues to downplay.
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Despite these hurdles, the evidence shows that public health action — backed by science and persistent advocacy — can drive meaningful change. The potential for large-scale impact is enormous, with the power to save lives, improve well-being, and reduce healthcare costs substantially. By addressing today’s market-driven epidemics with the lessons of past successes, there’s hope that we can reduce the reach and impact of products that undermine public health.
