Health

Junk food advertisers may escape pre-9pm ban as kids ‘don’t see enough ads to justify it’, suggests Government report


KIDS don’t watch enough junk food ads to justify a blanket ban, a think tank says.

Campaigners want TV and online adverts axed before 9pm for products which are high in fat, salt or sugar amid fears they fuel obesity.

 Big fast food firms have survived a potential advertising ban
Big fast food firms have survived a potential advertising ban

But a study commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport found children see just 1.5 of these ads online each week.

They also watch fewer than 20 seconds a day on telly.

Those include yoghurt and olive oil adverts as well as promos for sweets and crisps.

Campaigner and food writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is among those calling for a watershed. He previously slammed junk food commercials as “relentless”.

The Department of Health could impose a ban in June.

But the DCMS report, conducted by retail analysts Kantar Consulting, warns that food firms may simply pull their adverts completely.

Christopher Snowdon, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “This report debunks the myth kids are being bombarded with junk food ads.

“A 9pm watershed would be too far-reaching and too expensive for the tiny amount of advertising kids see.”

 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is in favour of a ban

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is in favour of a ban
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