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Tobacco Industry Ownership of US Food Companies: Insights From a Review of Industry Source Documents

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2022-11, Vol.30, p.161-161 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Nov 2022 ;ISSN: 1930-7381 ;EISSN: 1930-739X

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  • Title:
    Tobacco Industry Ownership of US Food Companies: Insights From a Review of Industry Source Documents
  • Author: Fazzino, Tera ; Jun, Daiil ; Ayyadevara, Akhila
  • Subjects: Annual reports ; Food ; Tobacco
  • Is Part Of: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2022-11, Vol.30, p.161-161
  • Description: Background: Parallels have been drawn between the practices of US tobacco companies and US food companies. Their shared strategies may be the result of shared ownership. Methods: Industry source documents were reviewed through the University of California San Francisco Industry Documents Library. Financial reports, annual reports, and 5-year strategic plans were reviewed to identify the food companies that were owned by two major US tobacco corporations: Phillip Morris (PM) and RJ Reynolds (RJR). Results: PM bought Kraft and General Foods in the early 1980's. By the late 1980's PM-owned companies led the US food market in sales per year. Food product sales comprised ~50% of PM's annual revenue between 1986-2000, equivalent to their annual sales from tobacco. In 2001, PM transferred ownership of their food companies to a new parent company, Altria Inc; thus PM-owned food companies are still present in the US food system today. RJR bought into the US food system in the 1960's first through purchases of sugar-sweetened beverage companies and in the 1970's with the purchase of major food company Nabisco. In the 1980's and 1990's, Nabisco led the US food system in sales of cookies and cracker products, and had a 2-3 fold lead in sales per year compared to competitors. Food sales comprised 25-30% of RJR's annual company revenue through the 1990's. RJR divested from Nabisco ownership in 2001. Conclusions: A review of internal industry documents revealed that US tobacco corporations heavily invested in the US food system in the 1980's, likely to compensate for declining tobacco sales in the era of tobacco litigation. Research is needed to identify the ways in which tobacco company ownership of major US food companies influenced food company practices and shaped the US food environment.
  • Publisher: Silver Spring: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 1930-7381
    EISSN: 1930-739X
  • Source: AUTh Library subscriptions: ProQuest Central
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