Thanks Neil for highlighting this BMJ letter seeking to (to coin a phrase) sugar-coat UPF and the food industry. We recently published a Viewpoint article in the BMJ Paediatrics Open on the UNICEF report "Feeding Profit" (Spencer N, Mercer RG, Rajmil L, et al. BMJ Paediatrics Open 2026;10:1–3. Doi:10.1136/bmjpo-2025-004084).
Box1 summarises the tactics, copied from the tobacco industry, that the food and drinks industry use to block regulation. These include:
Misinform:
Reshaping evidence; lobbying (direct or via third parties); increase doubt; procrastinate.
Attack
Neutralise, discredit, fragment and destabilise opponents: ‘Nanny State, Anti- business’, litigation, challenge policies in courts, threaten legal action or ‘job losses’.
Recruit
Build internal constituencies, alliances and trade associations. External constituencies, other sectors; policy makers; media. Substitute ineffective interventions Voluntary, self- regulation, public- private partnerships, education, individual choice.
Heap money on politicians, journalists and scientists
Vigilance in the face of these kind of tactics is essential in addressing the consequences of the food and drinks industry drive for profit.
Nick Spencer
CHIFA profile
Nick Spencer is Emeritus Professor of Child Health at the School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick in the UK. N.J.Spencer AT warwick.ac.uk