Tobacco vs Junk food

Did Tobacco Companies Also Get Us Hooked On Junk Food? New Research Says Yes

The chemically addictive fatty, salty and sweet foods that make up 68% of the American food supply have historically been pushed to consumers by the nation's leading tobacco sales companies, new research shows, suggesting the same companies responsible for what has been called a “smoking epidemic” could also be partially blamed for a decline in Americans’ health.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/09/08/did-tobacco-companies-also-get-us-hooked-on-junk-food-new-research-says-yes/

Tobacco & Colonial American Economy

The most important cash crop in Colonial America was tobacco, first cultivated by the English at their Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1610 CE by the merchant John Rolfe (l. 1585-1622 CE). Tobacco grew in the wild prior to this time and was cultivated by the indigenous peoples as a stimulant but, after Rolfe, became the most lucrative crop in the Americas.

The indigenous people regarded tobacco as a sacred plant which allowed access to the spirit world, a stimulant, and a medicinal substance. After the Spanish colonized the West Indies, South and Central America after 1492 CE, tobacco was grown, harvested, and exported as a recreational drug, and its popularity in Europe and elsewhere made it highly profitable.

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1681/tobacco--colonial-american-economy/

Cigarettes and junk food have something in common

You all already know that tobacco companies were responsible for one major global health crisis, but what if we told you they were actually responsible for two of them?

Driving the news: A new study published in the journal Addictions blames the rise of junk food in North America on brands that were once owned by tobacco companies.

Tobacco companies were forced to divest from the US food industry in the 2000s, but titans of snacking Kraft-General (Kool-Aid, Jell-O) and Nabisco (Oreo, Ritz) were once owned by cigarette merchants.

https://www.readthepeak.com/stories/09-23-cigarettes-and-junk-food-have-something-in-common

Junk food is addictive. Drugs like Ozempic treat addiction. But when will we tackle Big Food like we did Big Tobacco?

Since Ozempic hit the public consciousness as a weight-loss medication, one in eight Americans have tried it (or a version of it) to lose weight.

This is remarkable: less than five years ago, most people reading this would not have known these drugs existed. As availability of Ozempic and other GLP-1 based medications has increased, so has controversy. Are they worsening “fat stigma”? Are they safe in the long term? Why aren’t they more affordable? Aren’t they just a chemical solution to a man-made problem?

https://theconversation.com/junk-food-is-addictive-drugs-like-ozempic-treat-addiction-but-when-will-we-tackle-big-food-like-we-did-big-tobacco-254887