How we work to reduce cancer through policy

Policies can help create environments that promote healthy lifestyles, reaching millions and making it easier for everyone to make healthier choices. Effective public health policies, from junk food marketing restrictions to alcohol warning labels, have a far-reaching impact, creating a healthier future for all – not just the individual.

By prioritising prevention, we can reduce the burden of cancer and other chronic diseases on a large scale – many of the policies that reduce cancer risk also have many other benefits in reducing other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), improving mental health and addressing climate change.

We want all countries to implement policies that help people follow our Cancer Prevention Recommendations – which are a package for reducing the risk of cancer in people and populations. By providing evidence and recommendations, we support policymakers in creating and implementing strategies to reduce the risk of cancer and other NCDs from diet, physical activity and alcohol.

Our Policy Advisory Group provides expert guidance on meeting the evidence needs of policymakers for cancer and non-communicable disease prevention. The group advises on evidence interpretation, policy-relevant outputs, overcoming implementation barriers, and fostering broader adoption of effective policies. Established in April 2015, it includes experts from government, academia, and civil society across nine countries to help enhance our global impact.

> Read our policy strategy for 2021–24

Influencing and advocacy

We work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), other intergovernmental organisations and governments, offering advice, responding to consultations, and publishing position statements on issues related to preventable cancer risks. Our publications cover important policy areas, like marketing restrictions and labeling, to support policymakers in making informed decisions based on the latest evidence.

We also provide resources and guidance, such as recommendations to reduce alcohol consumption, and advocate for policy development that is free from conflicts of interest. By collaborating with civil society partners such as UICC and the NCD Alliance, policymakers and politicians we help countries meet global health targets and reduce NCDs, including cancer.

Developing tools and resources

We create and develop tools to help us and others study the impact of policies worldwide. Our NOURISHING policy framework highlights 10 key actions for healthier diets, while the MOVING framework identifies 6 areas to focus on for increasing physical activity. We actively promote these frameworks whenever possible.

We also gather diet and physical activity policies in the NOURISHING and MOVING databases and used a benchmarking tool to evaluate how well these policies are designed. The results are shared through the NOURISHING and MOVING policy indexes.

Sharing knowledge and expertise

We collaborate with our network of charities to support their policy goals by providing evidence and expertise. We keep them and our stakeholders informed with regular insights and analysis of policy developments through our monthly newsletter and social media updates. We also share our research and findings at conferences and with partners, while staying up to date with the latest in policy research and advocacy.