Industry using ‘tobacco playbook’ to fend off ‘forever chemicals’ regulation

PFAS have been found in water and are likely to be in the blood of almost every human on the planet. Photograph: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images

Efforts to restrict the production of plastic “forever chemicals” that could threaten public health have been met with a large-scale coordinated attack by the multibillion pound industries that make and use them.

Industry-funded research and exaggerated claims litter the arguments made by the fluoropolymer industry against stricter regulation, a year-long investigation by the Forever Lobbying Project, a cross-border investigation involving 46 journalists and 18 experts across 16 countries can reveal.