Michaels served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health under U.S. President Barack Obama.

"Doubt is our product," Michaels quotes a cigarette executive as saying, "since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the minds of the general public.

In doing so the tobacco industry waged a campaign that "successfully delayed regulation and victim compensation for decades".

To keep the public confused about the hazards posed by climate change, second-hand smoke, asbestos, lead, plastics, and many other toxic materials, industry executives have hired unscrupulous scientists and lobbyists to dispute scientific evidence about health risks.

In doing so, they have not only delayed action on specific hazards, but they have constructed barriers to make it harder for lawmakers, government agencies, and courts to respond to future threats.