Abstract
Although smoking a cigarette and eating French fries are very different experiences, governments often use similar measures for tobacco control and obesity prevention. For example, they Increase taxes on sodas, fat products and cigarettes and regulate the promotion, labels and contents of these products. Many experts have drawn a parallel between the tobacco and obesity “epidemics”. It has been suggested that obesity prevention could benefit from the experience in tobacco control. But to what extent can tobacco use and the consumption of unhealthy food be compared? Tobacco control regulations have mainly relied on the fact that smoking is harmful to non-smokers. By contrast, overeating does not affect “innocent bystanders”. This paper analyses the legal and philosophical rationale for tobacco control and obesity prevention. To what extent can the rationale supporting tobacco control be used for obesity prevention? Should governments go as far as tobacco control when it comes to preventing obesity, and if so, on what philosophical and legal grounds? The paper explores the similarities between tobacco consumption and obesity, from the tactics used by the tobacco and food industries to the socio-economic factors leading to tobacco consumption and obesity, using a legal, comparative and historical method. It also explores the limits of the comparison and their implications for future policy at global level.