Tobacco industry playbook

[13] In 1953, Reader's Digest's published a précis of an article from the Christian Herald titled "Cancer by the Carton", highlighting the emergent findings of epidemiologists including Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill.

Tactics included:[15] Documents such as Bad Science: A Resource Book were used to promulgate talking points intended to cast doubt on scientific independence and political interference.

[16][13] The playbook has been adopted by the fossil fuel industry, in its efforts to stave off global action on climate change,[2][13] and by those seeking to undermine the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more generally.

[19] Greg Zimmerman found a 2015 presentation titled "Survival Is Victory: Lessons From the Tobacco Wars" by Richard Reavey of Cloud Peak Energy (and formerly of Philip Morris) in which Reavey explicitly acknowledged the parallels and urged fellow coal executives to accept the facts of climate change and work with regulators on solutions that would preserve the industry.

[20][21] Both Fred Singer and Frederick Seitz are prominent figures in climate change denial who previously worked for the tobacco industry.

[25][26] The soft drinks industry's attempts to avoid sugary beverage taxes and other government action to reduce obesity draws upon elements of the tobacco playbook,[27] including use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs as a PR strategy.