Focus Areas

The Council for Public Health engages with public health challenges through defined focus areas that reflect the intersection of evidence, law, and institutional accountability. These areas guide the organisation’s research, analysis, and policy engagement.

Tobacco Control and Cessation

CPH examines tobacco use as a systemic public health failure rather than an individual behavioural issue. This focus area addresses the health, economic, and social consequences of tobacco use, with emphasis on prevention, cessation, and the effectiveness of existing control measures.

Particular attention is given to youth initiation, indirect promotion, enforcement of statutory restrictions, and the long-term burden of tobacco-related disease on health systems.

Policy and Regulatory Accountability

Public health outcomes are shaped by policy choices and regulatory integrity. This focus area examines how public health policies are designed, implemented, and enforced, and where gaps between legal intent and on-ground practice persist.

CPH analyses regulatory processes, institutional responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms relevant to public health protection, particularly in contexts involving commercial determinants of health.

Public Health Law and Governance

This focus area engages with public health as a governance issue grounded in law. CPH examines statutory frameworks, constitutional principles, and international commitments that define public health obligations and standards.

The emphasis is on understanding how legal instruments are interpreted, operationalised, and enforced, and how governance structures influence public health outcomes.

Evidence, Surveillance, and Public Discourse

Evidence forms the foundation of effective public health action. This focus area involves analysis of public health data, national surveys, surveillance systems, and research outputs relevant to preventable health harms.

CPH seeks to support informed public discourse by presenting evidence in a manner that is accurate, accessible, and relevant to policy and institutional decision-making.