Food Industry’s Tobacco Playbook

Ola!

Curse and Coffee friends,

Today, we explore how junk-food giants copy Big Tobacco’s playbook.

Hit reply and let us know what you think (we read all of your kind words).

Coffee at the ready…

The take: Ultra-processed food makers copied Big Tobacco's homework. Lobbying, lawsuits, and bought research. Regulators are falling for it again.

What happened: A Lancet series backed by UNICEF and WHO, published on 19 November, documented how food companies deploy the same delay tactics cigarette makers perfected in the 90s.

Why it matters: These companies don't just sell Doritos. They fund politicians, ghost-write nutrition guidelines, and shape public health policy to protect their margins. When researchers say "ultra-processed food causes harm," industry lawyers show up with briefcases full of doubt and studies funded by the people selling the stuff.

What to watch: Whether governments force front-of-package labels that go beyond "high in sugar" warnings. We're talking labels that call out artificial colors, sweeteners, and processing markers that make food shelf-stable for the apocalypse but terrible for your gut.

The tobacco playbook worked for decades. Food companies are betting it'll work again. So far, they're winning.

The industry spent more on advertising in 2024 than the WHO's entire annual budget. Cigarettes at least come with pictures of black lungs and sick people.

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