In this new IEA briefing, Reem Ibrahim, Communications Manager and Linda Whetstone Scholar at the IEA, sits down with Dr. Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics. Dr. Snowdon discusses his recently published IEA Discussion Paper "The Corporate Playbook," which critically examines how public health academics characterise industry tactics.
Dr. Snowdon argues that what public health activists label as the "corporate playbook" or "tobacco playbook" actually consists of ordinary political activities used by all policy stakeholders - including the public health community itself. These common tactics include media engagement, commissioning research, lobbying, holding public events, and critiquing opposing evidence. He demonstrates that public health advocates employ identical methods while using pejorative language to delegitimise the same activities when performed by industries they oppose.
The conversation highlights the irony that while public health activists accuse various industries of following a "tobacco playbook," they themselves follow an "anti-tobacco blueprint" - systematically applying the same incremental regulatory approach to new sectors like food and alcohol that was previously used for tobacco. Dr. Snowdon notes that this represents both projection and a continuation of the mission creep and slippery slope that public health advocates previously denied would occur.
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