Junk Food Ad Ban Bill Passes First Hurdle
A bill to introduce a 9pm watershed for junk food TV adverts has cleared its first major hurdle in the House of Lords.
Peers passed the Television Advertising (Food) Bill through to the next stage in the process of becoming law on Friday.
The peers who spoke in favour of the Bill included; writer Baroness Ruth Rendell; Lord Krebs, the former head of the Food Standards Agency; and the Bishop of St Albans.
Health campaigners have welcomed the news that Baroness Thornton’s bill has passed the first step, although inevitably many advertisers will view this milestone as the beginning of the end.
Baroness Thornton said in her speech: “The current rules to protect children from junk food adverts are ineffective. Given that one in three children is now obese or overweight it is vital that we adequately protect children from junk food adverts before 9pm.”
Richard Watts, campaign coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said: “The momentum behind a 9pm watershed for junk food adverts is growing all the time. Today, the House of Lords has passed this Bill; earlier in the week we won the support of Harriet Harman; in the last few months over 230 MPs have signed up to support the 9pm watershed.”
He continued: “Today’s vote means this Bill will still be before Parliament when Gordon Brown become Prime Minister. Given he has already signalled his support for controls on junk food advertising before the watershed we’re very confident indeed that this vital public health measure will become law.”
Baroness Peta Buscombe, chief executive of the Advertising Association, who spoke in the debate, said: “Obesity is a hugely important and multi-faceted social issue that must be taken seriously. Unfortunately this Bill proposing a 9pm watershed is a classic case of a quick fix solution to a complex problem.
“Advertising is an easy target, but advertising bans have unintended consequences and won’t tackle the root causes of the problem of obesity. Not only would a watershed be damaging and disproportionate, it is not evidence-based and certainly not rational to introduce yet more changes when the current ones are only just being phased in at the present time.”
She continued: “Advertising is an easy target when politicians do not want to blame either themselves or the lack of responsibility exercised by their constituents. Yet if we really want to tackle the root causes of obesity this is where we should be looking. It is time to end the increasingly hysterical calls for bans, restrictions and bandwagons and time instead to look for common sense, clarity and real solutions. It is time for government and politicians to face up to uncomfortable truths.”
Last week over 50 health, consumer and children’s organisations, and celebrities such as Raymond Blanc, Antony Worrall Thomson and Prue Leith, wrote to senior politicians urging them to protect children from junk food TV advertising before 9pm. In response Harriet Harman, a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, endorsed the campaign.
In the past, groups such as the IPA have expressed disappointment at Ofcom’s decision to extend the restrictions for HFSS advertising aimed at children, claiming the new rules are flawed (see IPA Claims New Ofcom HFSS Rules Are Flawed).
Late last year the regulator introduced a total ban on junk food ads from all children’s programming, broadcast at any time of day or night, which hold particular appeal for children up to 16 (see Ofcom Bans Junk Food Ads In Children’s Programming).
At MediaTel Group’s ‘Future of Outdoor’ seminar last week (see Digital Outdoor Debate Sparks Mixed Views), Barry Sayer, UK president of Clear Channel Outdoor, made reference to the fact that these types of restrictions were currently the greatest threat to advertisers in this country.
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk IPA: 020 7235 7020 www.ipa.co.uk Children’s Food Campaign www.sustainweb.org