Clearing the Smoke on Fossil Fuels — The Health Imperative for a Countermarketing Campaign

This perspective advocates for a public health countermarketing campaign against fossil fuels, modeled on successful tobacco control strategies, to combat the industry’s pervasive disinformation and mitigate its severe health and climate impacts. Fossil-fuel pollution causes millions of premature deaths annually and exacerbates health inequities. The authors highlight parallels between fossil-fuel and tobacco industry tactics—including greenwashing and blame-shifting—and propose evidence-based countermeasures, such as Surgeon General warnings, stricter advertising regulations, and community-led advocacy. A coordinated campaign could erode the industry’s social license, accelerate clean energy policies, and protect global health.

This perspective advocates for a public health countermarketing campaign against fossil fuels, modeled on successful tobacco control strategies, to combat the industry’s pervasive disinformation and mitigate its severe health and climate impacts. Fossil-fuel pollution causes millions of premature deaths annually and exacerbates health inequities. The authors highlight parallels between fossil-fuel and tobacco industry tactics—including greenwashing and blame-shifting—and propose evidence-based countermeasures, such as Surgeon General warnings, stricter advertising regulations, and community-led advocacy. A coordinated campaign could erode the industry’s social license, accelerate clean energy policies, and protect global health.