Laura Schmidt

When people think about these foods, we should be understanding that they are very, very closely related to cigarettes, particularly in terms of the chemical additives.

Those additives are the same.

The new papers add to evidence that links overconsumption of ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes, including diabetes and obesity.

But the papers also look at how tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J.

Reynolds use tactics learned from cigarettes.

to develop and sell ultra-processed foods when they owned large food firms from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

That includes using chemical additives to make products more appealing, says UCSF researcher Laura Schmidt.

She and others are calling for marketing restrictions and other regulations to curb consumption of ultra-processed foods.

Maria Godoy, NPR News.

When people think about these foods, we should be understanding that they are very, very closely related to cigarettes, particularly in terms of the chemical additives.

Those additives are the same.