Tobacco Industry Playbook Used to Market Ultra-Processed Foods, Experts Say
6 verified6 unconfirmed
A special edition of the American Journal of Public Health, released June 3, 2026, features research and commentary from leading experts on ultra-processed foods (UPFs). The collection draws parallels between the strategies used by big tobacco companies to sell cigarettes and those later applied to market UPFs, including Lunchables, to children. Researchers presented their findings during a press briefing, calling for sweeping policy changes to address the health harms of UPFs, which include links to cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, and cognitive decline. The experts acknowledged the Make America Healthy Again movement for raising awareness but criticized it as more feelings-based than science-based. Polling included in the issue shows broad bipartisan concern over UPF health risks and support for government intervention. Experts argued that educational efforts alone are insufficient and that the food system requires regulatory reform to reduce UPF dominance.
What’s verified
A special issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and their health impacts.
Tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds used strategies from their cigarette business to develop and market UPFs, including Lunchables.
Philip Morris owned Kraft in the 1980s and 1990s and applied cigarette product design techniques to food products.
A study in the issue found a possible association between high UPF consumption and dementia in older adults, with important caveats about recall and diagnosis methods.
Public health experts, including Marion Nestle and Lindsey Smith Taillie, called for stronger government regulation and criticized the current administration for insufficient action.
Marion Nestle described the Make America Healthy Again movement as “feelings-based” but acknowledged its efforts to remove certain additives and dyes from the food supply.
Not yet confirmed
Specific dementia risk percentages (58% for dementia, 46% for mild cognitive impairment, 47% for either) were reported by one source.
The survey cited in the special issue involved 2,000 U.S. adults, according to one source.
One source reported that tobacco companies developed “king-sized” food items and “light” or “reduced-fat” UPF products to retain customers.
One source mentioned that the Trump administration has made policy changes that could exacerbate UPF problems, including efforts to reduce SNAP enrollment and redirecting corn subsidies.
Altria and Kraft-Heinz did not respond to requests for comment, per one source.
The statnews.com article noted it receives grant support from Bloomberg Philanthropies for chronic health coverage.
Key figures
Marion Nestle, nutritionist and public health professor emerita, New York University
Lindsey Smith Taillie, nutrition epidemiologist, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Cindy Leung, public health nutrition professor, Harvard
Tera Fazzino, psychology professor and addiction researcher, University of Kansas
Laura Schmidt, health policy professor, University of California, San Francisco
Kelly Brownell, obesity expert, Duke University
Jennifer Pomeranz, public health lawyer, New York University
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. health secretary
Sources: The Guardian, statnews.com
