Tobacco vs Sugar, Will History Repeat?

Please bare with me, I know speaking about the tobacco industry might throw you off a bit, but I do have a point.

Are we blind to what sugar is doing to our health in the way we were about tobacco? Is it because it is a beautiful brilliant white and you cannot see or smell how it might be making you sick? Or is it because it taste so good and you are addicted the way one becomes addicted to nicotine?

Once upon a time between 1930 and 1950 cigarettes were touted to be healthy. Noticing a rise in lung cancer, a once rare disease, and a confluence of studies somewhere in the 1940’s and 50’s, cigarettes were recognized as the cause. Due to manufacturer’s disputing the evidence as a part of an orchestrated conspiracy, propagandizing the public proved successful. Cigarette smoking continues to be acceptable.

It wasn’t until 1964 that the Surgeon General recognized the damage to your health from smoking tobacco, along with growing concerns for inhaling second hand smoke.

It wasn’t until October 2000 that Philip Morris acknowledged an overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious disease in smokers.

In 1998 there was a major settlement against the tobacco companies for selling a product they knew was harmful. As years progressed smoking grows to become less acceptable. Now here we are in 2018 with smoking banned in many places.

How many of you realize there has been talk already amongst the major food processing companies about the health effects sugar and high fructose corn syrup is having on the world population? This meeting was to discuss the potential they too could be sued as the tobacco companies were. The science and evidence out there is overwhelming as well as building against sugar and HFCS. Yet more and more products continue to be made and super sized. How long is it going to take for the consumer to realize the damaging effects of this sweet white stuff that makes everything taste so good? What is it going to take to transform how you eat and see food?