Junk food TV ads to be banned before 9pm in UK

Junk food advertising will be banned on television before 9pm and online at all times in the UK from the end of 2022 as part of measures to combat childhood obesity, ministers announced on Thursday.

Brands will be barred from advertising products high in fat, salt and sugar before the watershed and running paid-for digital ads at any time, with exemptions for small businesses and products, such as honey, olive oil and avocados.

The announcement of what will be some of the world’s toughest food advertising restrictions follows a move to ban the promotion of unhealthy food in shops, including “buy one, get one free” offers and the placement of items near checkouts.

The government said: “Current advertising regulations are not going far enough to protect children from seeing a significant amount of unhealthy food adverts on TV, and existing regulation does not account for the increasing amount of time children are spending online.”

Brand-only advertising, such as by fast-food outlets, will still be allowed, while companies can continue to promote junk foods on their own websites and social media accounts.

Foods covered by the ban range from soft drinks and crisps to sugary breakfast cereals, cakes, pizza and biscuits. The government has issued a list of products affected, following warnings that more sweeping criteria might take in healthy foods such as honey and avocados.

Companies with fewer than 250 employees will still be able to advertise unhealthier foods, to help them recover from the economic impact of the pandemic.

Jo Churchill, public health minister, said: “We need to take urgent action to level up health inequalities. This [decision] . . . will help to wipe billions off the national calorie count and give our children a fair chance of a healthy lifestyle.”

The plans have prompted outcry from food manufacturers and advertisers. Sue Eustace, public affairs director at the Advertising Association, a trade body, said the group was “dismayed”.

“This means many food and drink companies won’t be able to advertise new product innovations and reformulations and larger food-on-the-go, pub and restaurant chains may not be able to tell their customers about their menus,” she said.

“Content providers — online publishers and broadcasters — will lose vital advertising revenue to fund jobs in editorial and programme-making,” added Eustace.

Sayra Tekin, legal, policy and regulatory affairs director at the News Media Association, an industry body, said: “Instead of tackling the problem of childhood obesity, this draconian measure will harm news media publishers who rely on advertising revenue to fund the journalism which keeps us all informed.”

The government estimates broadcasters will lose about £66.3m a year in advertising revenue as a result of the restrictions, while for online platforms the figure is £178m.

Critics of the proposed ban said the evidence base for the policy was insufficient. The government’s impact assessment estimates the average British child will consume between 0.1 and 3.9 fewer calories per day as a result of the limit.

Children in the UK aged seven to 10 typically consume between 1,500 and 2,000 calories per day.

The government predicted that the policy would generate £2.3bn of health benefits over 100 years, adding that there was “significant uncertainty” in calculating the benefits. Officials said the initiative “could reduce the number of obese children by more than 20,000”.

Jon Mew, chief executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau, a trade body, said: “I am staggered that, in the face of so much evidence showing that it will have next to no impact on childhood obesity rates, the government continues to pursue headline-grabbing, hollow actions.”

Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer at the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the industry, also criticised the proposal.

“[It] would make it difficult to advertise many products that have been carefully reformulated or created in smaller portions in line with the government’s own targets; for example, Cadbury would not be able to advertise their 30 per cent reduced sugar Dairy Milk,” she said, adding that businesses would not have enough time to prepare for the changes.

Health campaigners, however, welcomed the new restrictions. Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of organisations focused on preventing obesity-related diseases, said: “This hugely welcome news shows that the government is serious about putting our nation’s health first.

“This is a landmark, evidence-based policy, and these new restrictions will stem the flood of adverts on TV and online that entice us towards sugary and high-fat foods, making space to advertise healthier foods.”

Additional reporting by Alex Barker