Big Tech vs. Big Tobacco – The Playbook

Can you believe cigarettes used to be considered a Christmas present?

Just like we learned cigarettes hurt us, we are now learning technology is rewiring us – our focus, our productivity, even our sense of joy. But here’s the thing: this kind of manipulation is not unique to tech.

This playbook has been used before. Entire industries have built fortunes by designing products to hook people, hiding the harm, and selling false fixes.

And the clearest example? Big Tobacco.

For decades, they hid research, preyed on vulnerabilities, and built empires on addiction.

What cigarettes did with nicotine, tech has done with dopamine. The tactics are eerily familiar.

Take a look at big tobacco vs big tech:

1. Both Know Their Products Are Harmful – But Sell Them Anyway

Tobacco companies denied the cancer link for decades while privately acknowledging it. Tech giants like Facebook and Instagram have internal research linking their platforms to teen mental health harms but chose profit over protection.

2. Both Target the Young – Early and Often

Tobacco ads once glamorized smoking to kids and teens (Joe Camel, anyone?). Tech platforms hook children with gamified features, cartoon avatars, and viral trends, training their brains before critical thinking matures.

3. Both Use Addiction Science to Fuel Dependence

Nicotine manipulation = engineered craving. Push notifications, streaks, and variable rewards = dopamine hijack. The same brain circuits. The same addictive playbook.

4. Both Market Themselves as “Freedom” While Enslaving Attention

Tobacco ads said smoking was sexy, rebellious, liberating. Tech promises creativity, connection, and empowerment… while monetizing every second you’re distracted.

5. Both Pretend to Offer Solutions While Blaming Users

The tobacco industry pushed “light” cigarettes and “quitting aids” – while boosting nicotine content. Tech gives you “screen time tools” buried in settings, then blames you for using their product too much.

6. Both Lied Under Oath

In 1994, tobacco CEOs told Congress under oath that nicotine was not addictive. In 2018 and beyond, tech leaders have insisted under oath that their platforms are safe for kids –despite internal data showing otherwise.

7. Both Leave a Trail of Public Health Consequences

Lung cancer, heart disease, death. Anxiety, depression, polarization, sleep loss, teen suicide, loneliness. Different eras, same negligence.

Big Tobacco knew they were harming us for years. Big Tech knows exactly what they're doing.