A recent report highlights alarming similarities between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cigarettes, calling for stricter regulations on these highly processed products. Researchers from three prominent US universities emphasize that both UPFs and cigarettes are designed to foster addiction and increase consumption, indicating a significant public health risk associated with each.
According to the study, conducted by experts from Harvard, the University of Michigan, and Duke University, UPFs are readily available across the globe. These industrially manufactured foods often incorporate emulsifiers, artificial colors, and flavors, encompassing items like soft drinks and packaged snacks, such as chips and cookies.
The researchers note similar production methods between UPFs and cigarettes, as well as manufacturers’ strategies to optimize the “doses” of addictive ingredients and their rapid effects on the brain’s reward pathways, according to the published paper. Their findings draw from research in addiction science, nutrition, and public health history, and were released on February 3 in the healthcare journal Milbank Quarterly.
The authors argue that marketing claims such as “low fat” or “sugar-free” represent a form of “health washing” that impedes effective regulation, similar to how cigarette filters were marketed in the 1950s as safe alternatives despite offering little real benefit.
