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Ultra-processed foods are addictive and harmful like cigarettes, study finds
Ultra-processed foods share more characteristics with cigarettes than with fruits and vegetables: according to researchers, regulating them like tobacco could reduce the risks to public health.
Ultra-processed foods should be regulated more like cigarettes than like food: this is the conclusion of a study carried out by researchers at the University of Michigan, Duke University and Harvard University, published in early February in the public health journal Milbank Quarterly.
The study is a review that synthesised findings from addiction science, nutrition research and public health history in order to identify the structural and sensory characteristics that increase the “reinforcing potential” — that is, the ability of a stimulus to make a behaviour more likely to be repeated in the future — in both cigarettes and ultra-processed foods.
“Many ultra-processed foods share more characteristics with cigarettes than with minimally processed fruits or vegetables, and therefore justify regulation proportionate to the significant public health risks they represent,” the researchers concluded.
From product design to marketing strategies: ultra-processed foods, like cigarettes
Ultra-processed foods are products that undergo extensive industrial transformation. They contain a range of additives such as colourings and preservatives, high amounts of sugar, salt and fat, and are often calorie-dense but low in nutrients. Examples include packaged snacks, sugary drinks and ready-made meals, but also sliced packaged bread and sugar-coated breakfast cereals.
The study explains that cigarettes and ultra-processed foods are not simply natural products, but highly engineered delivery systems, specifically designed to create dependence and encourage consumption. The tobacco and ultra-processed food industries have used similar strategies to increase product appeal, evade regulation and shape public perception. These include dose optimisation, the addition of additives, rapid gratification and reward for the body, and “healthwashing”: slogans such as “low fat” or “sugar-free” were compared to cigarette filter advertising in the 1950s — a strategy that did not, in reality, provide significant health benefits.
As the researchers point out, these design features hijack human biology, undermine individual agency and contribute heavily to the costs of disease and healthcare. Ultra-processed foods are in fact associated with many of the same health risks as smoking, including heart disease, cancer and premature death.
Regulating ultra-processed foods like cigarettes for the benefit of public health
The authors therefore suggest that ultra-processed foods should be evaluated not only through a nutritional lens, but also using the same criteria applied to tobacco regulation.
Marketing restrictions, improved labelling, or structural measures such as taxes or limits on availability in schools and hospitals could help address the public health threat posed by ultra-processed foods, shifting the focus from individual responsibility to the accountability of the food industry.
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