TV ads broadcast before 9pm and online ads at all times will not be shown.
Staff Reporter, Daily Dawn, Dawn TV Report
London: Junk food ads have been banned on television and online platforms during daytime in the UK, with the government calling it a landmark move of its kind in the world to tackle childhood obesity.
The ban will apply to ads for products that are high in fat, salt or sugar. According to the Ministry of Health, this measure will reduce children’s diets by about 7.2 billion calories annually.
The ban will apply to TV ads broadcast before 9pm and online ads at all times, which will result in a reduction of 20,000 in the number of obese children and a health benefit of about $2 billion.
The new measure follows measures introduced in December 2024 that extended the sugar tax to packaged goods such as milkshakes, ready-to-drink coffee and sweetened yoghurt drinks.
The latest measure also gives local authorities the power to prevent fast food outlets from being set up outside schools.
The government says evidence shows that advertising influences children’s food choices and meal times, forming tastes at a young age and increasing the risk of obesity and related diseases.
According to official figures, around 22% of children entering primary school in England are overweight or obese, while this rate rises to more than a third by the time they reach secondary school age.
According to authorities, tooth decay has become the biggest cause of hospital admissions in young children.
Health Minister Ashley Dalton said that limiting junk food advertising before 9pm and banning online advertising would significantly reduce unnecessary advertising of unhealthy foods.
She said the move was part of a strategy to shift the National Health Service from a treatment-only approach to focusing on disease prevention.
Kathryn Jenner, executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance, called the decision a welcome and long-awaited step towards better protecting children from unhealthy food and drink advertising.
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