Tory Manifesto Pledges to Ban ‘Junk Food’ Adverts They Already Banned
Politicians seem to be losing track of what they have already banned. On page 41 of the Tory manifesto it says:
“We will bring forward our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill in our first King’s Speech. We will continue to tackle childhood and adult obesity and will legislate to restrict the advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar. We will gather new evidence on the impact of ultraprocessed food to support people to make healthier choices.”
Apart from tucking away Sunak’s “landmark” smoke ban legislation in the middle of the health and social care section and giving it a 15-word sentence, the Tories appear to be promising to ban already-banned products here. The Health and Care Act 2022 has already legislated that:
“On-demand programme services must not, between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm, include advertisements for an identifiable less healthy food or drink product… a person must not pay for advertisements for an identifiable less healthy food or drink product to be placed on the internet.”
There is, of course, no evidence to suggest that “junk food” advertisement bans work – not that that will stop both parties aggressively out-nannying each other. The government failed to clarify how this will all work via regulation and it looks like Labour is being left to sort it out themselves. No doubt they will go a deal further…
