Policy, legislation and environmental change

The Charter states that health promotion policy combines diverse but complementary approaches, including legislation, fiscal measures, taxation and organisational change. However, when health promoters, advocates and public health professionals attempt to sustain the supportive environments through legislation or policy, they are often labelled with terms including &s;nanny staters&s;, &s;wowsers&s; or &s;the fun police&s;. Many unhealthy industries regularly use the term &s;nanny staters&s; to frame the debate on their terms, create a distraction and drown out competing public health values. Legislation and policy have been significant elements of comprehensive health promotion efforts, yet the policy process is time-consuming and complex, and often policy levers to influence the determinants of health lie largely outside of the health sector&s;s direct control. Policy success is often associated with structural approaches in health promotion that address the built environment, and access regulations or policies rather than attempting to directly modify individuals&s; health behaviours.