A/79/177 81. “Surrogate marketing” 177 is frequently an avenue to circumvent legally mandated advertising bans or restrictions. 178 Such tactics are often combined with sponsorship or other corporate social responsibility programmes, 179 with dubious health benefits that increase brand reputation, 180 and these must stop. 82. In the action plan 2022–2030 to effectively implement the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority, WHO provides steps for both the prevention and the treatment of alcohol use disorders. 181 In 2023, for the first time, WHO included two medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorders on the Model List of Essential Medicines. 182 The action plan further emphasizes the need to reduce the harms of alcohol for people with alcohol use disorders, as well as for their families, friends and communities. 183 83. States have obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 184 to use revenue from tobacco taxes to build robust cessation programmes. 185 84. Action that States can take to reduce harm stemming from diet-related non-communicable diseases includes: measures to protect biodiversity and the enjoyment of the right to land; requiring the food industry to provide accurate and easy-to-read information through front-of-package nutrition labelling; and healthy food procurement policies. Fiscal policies, including taxation and subsidy strategies, can redistribute the relative cost of food, thereby promoting equity and empowering decision-making. 186 85. Likewise, action is needed by States with respect to breast-milk substitutes, which are indirectly cross-promoted through the marketing of toddler milks that use similar colour schemes, designs, names, slogans or mascots, in an attempt to circumvent the provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Such practices create confusion and may pose risks for infants’ health. 187 86. Children, particularly those who are of lower socioeconomic status within high income countries, are vulnerable to the advertising of unhealthy food and drinks. States are required to reduce children’s exposure to food and beverage advertising. 188 VII. Harm reduction in humanitarian and emergency settings 87. Humanitarian and emergency settings, including conflicts, pandemics, natural disasters and other crises pose distinct threats and harms to health. Each individual’s __________________ 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 24-13226 WHO, Reducing the Harm from Alcohol, p. xv (Glossary). There is discussion in the literature regarding the use of the terminology to refer to these practices, using other terms including “alibi marketing” and “brand marketing” to refer to similar, albeit not identical, tactics. See Nathan Critchlow, John Holmes and Niamh Fitzgerald, “Alibi marketing? Surrogate marketing? Brand sharing? What is the correct terminology to discuss marketing for alcohol‐free and low‐alcohol products which share branding with regular strength alcohol products?”, Addiction (2024). WHO, A Public Health Perspective on Zero- and Low-Alcohol Beverages, Snapshot Series on Alcohol Control Policies and Practice, Brief No. 10 (Geneva, 2023). WHO, Reducing the Harm from Alcohol, p. 23. Submission from Global Health Advocacy Incubator. WHO, Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030 (Geneva, 2024). WHO, “Landmark public health decision by WHO on essential medicines for alcohol use disorders”, 8 August 2023. WHO, Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030. See www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/tobacco-control/quitting/offer-help-to-quit-tobacco-use. Ibid. A/78/185, paras. 78 and 80. WHO and UNICEF, “WHO/UNICEF information note: cross-promotion of infant formula and toddler milk”, 2019. A/HRC/26/31, para. 22; and A/78/185, para. 78. 19/28