At Christmas, media advertisements become especially “sweet” - chocolates, candies and all kinds of confectionery are sold in droves. It has always been this way in Britain, but this year advertising agencies had to become much more inventive than usual, because advertising of all unhealthy food products is now banned. So instead of Christmas pudding and peanut butter cookies, the cameras showed Brussels sprouts and various types of cheese, writes ARD.
No advertisements for too sweet, too salty or too fatty foods
The ban on advertising unhealthy foods, such as ice cream, chocolates and sweetened milks, was officially supposed to be in effect from January, but the industry voluntarily committed to complying with it since October last year. This means that no advertisements for too sweet, too salty or too fatty foods can appear on television before 9 p.m. And on the internet – they are completely banned.
There are, of course, those who are dissatisfied – for example, a presenter of the online media Talk TV. “The state allows itself too much. This is typical socialism, once you start controlling everything“, he complains.
Measures against obesity
The ban on advertisements for certain foods is actually just one of the measures with which the British government is fighting against an unhealthy lifestyle. Back in 2018, the then Conservative government introduced the so-called “sugar tax”, which taxes sweetened drinks. The current Labour government recently extended the tax to milkshakes, instant coffee drinks and all "pay two, get three" offers on sugary and fatty foods.
The new bans are aimed primarily at preventing children from being negatively influenced in their food choices. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told parliament that obesity deprives children of the best start in life, hits the poorest hardest, condemning them to a life of ill health and costing the already overstretched NHS billions.
What are the expected benefits
The UK Department of Health has calculated that the new measures could prevent at least 20,000 cases of obesity, saving the health system €2 billion. It is not clear exactly how these calculations were made, the German public media outlet notes, but it stresses that many health experts welcome the measures. And this is no coincidence: one in ten children aged 4 is obese, and one in five children aged 5 already has cavities.
The ban on advertising unhealthy foods was supposed to come into effect in 2023, but resistance from the industries that produce such products has thwarted it. Reactions among the population have been mixed - not least because unhealthy foods are usually the cheapest in the supermarket, regardless of whether they are advertised or not.
Author: Franziska Hoppen ARD