Junk Food Ad Ban Finally Comes into Effect – Albeit Weakened by Industry Influence
Today’s announcement of restrictions on junk food advertising on TV and online spaces is a long overdue and welcomed move. Over the years, Action on Salt and Sugar has consistently called for stronger protections to reduce children’s exposure to advertising for less healthy foods, and this policy will help begin to shift the balance towards healthier food environments.
Advertising shapes food preferences, normalises poor-quality diets and drives overconsumption; therefore, reducing the visibility of less healthy food matters immensely. This policy acknowledges that responsibility does not lie solely with individuals, but with the environments in which food choices are made, a key and often overlooked factor in the UK’s obesity agenda.
However, while we welcome this progress, this policy could, and should, have gone further. Years of industry lobbying have resulted in significant loopholes that risk undermining the new policy’s impact, for example:
- Brand advertising is still permitted - meaning companies can continue to promote recognisable, less healthy brands without showing specific products, keeping them front and centre in consumers’ minds.
- Restrictions do not apply to all less healthy foods - many products high in salt (including everyday items that contribute significantly to excess salt intakes) can still be advertised and promoted as they sit outside of the restrictions.
- Outdoor advertising is not included – this runs the potential risk that businesses will simply shift their marketing focus onto outdoor spaces, a sector that already disproportionately targets areas of lower income with less healthy products.
These gaps allow businesses to adapt their marketing strategies rather than meaningfully change the foods they sell. As a result, children and families will continue to be exposed to marketing for foods that contribute to poor diets, high blood pressure, obesity and preventable diseases.
If we want this policy to have maximum impact, we need bolder action that prioritises comprehensive and iron-tight regulations that prioritise health over profits. Without this, the food industry will continue to outpace public health policy.
Speaking on the restrictions, Sonia Pombo, Head of Research and Impact at Action on Salt quoted:
"Today’s restrictions are an encouraging step towards creating healthier food environments and rightly recognises the inherent role of the food industry in driving poor diets. Whilst we welcome this win, it is hard to ignore what could have been achieved had the policy not been weakened by years of relentless industry lobbying and manipulation tactics. Our children deserve to be protected from the influence that Big Food have on their plates. Let's hope the government can learn from this moment, and from stronger policies that have worked before, to deliver effective action."
