UK junk food ad bans: Local authorities ramp up policies to protect children’s health

10 Aug 2023 --- Luton Council in South East England has become the latest UK authority to restrict unhealthy food and drink adverts. The measures, developed in collaboration with Sustain, have been introduced to protect local adult and children’s health and will be in place across all of their advertising.

Luton is the eighth local authority to bring in a Healthier Food Advertising Policy, after the Mayor of London, with support from Sustain, first brought in the policy across the Transport for London network in 2019. Seven other local authorities across the UK have introduced a policy: Haringey, Southwark, Merton, Greenwich, Bristol, Barnsley and Tower Hamlets.

Luton has become the third council outside London to restrict unhealthy food advertising.

In May 2023, Tower Hamlets council approved a healthier advertising policy. It became the seventh local authority in the UK to restrict advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).

The policy, which was brought to the council’s cabinet on May 24, aims to reduce exposure to unhealthy food adverts and images, which are often targeted at children and young people living in more disadvantaged areas.

Tower Hamlet’s decision follows years of campaigning from Sustain. It will restrict the advertising of junk food and drink products on all of Tower Hamlets council-owned estates, assets and through procured advertising service contracts.

20% reduction in sugary foods
Meanwhile, evidence from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s evaluation of the Transport for London policy has shown that the restrictions led to a 20% reduction in sugary products and a 1,000-calorie decrease per week per household from unhealthy foods and drinks. 

Further modeling research from the University of Sheffield has estimated that across London, the restriction will lead to 95,000 fewer cases of obesity, 3,000 fewer cases of diabetes and 2,000 fewer cases of heart disease and save the NHS £218 million (US$277.5 million) over the lifetime of the current population.

Luton is the eighth local authority to bring in a Healthier Food Advertising Policy.Transport for London also announced that its advertising revenues have been unaffected by the restrictions since its implementation in 2019. 

In the first year of the policy, revenues went up by £2.3 million (US$2.9 million). In the second year (2020-21), despite financial losses due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the restrictions enabled the advertising figures to be maintained.

“At a time when our national government is repeatedly failing children and adults by stalling on important health measures, Luton council has stood up to the F&B industry on behalf of all their residents,” says Fran Bernhardt from Sustain. 

“We know that those living in the most deprived areas are most affected by unhealthy food advertising and at risk from diet-related diseases. So by removing the spotlight from unhealthy foods, Luton is supporting their local area to level up.”

Making changes to live healthier
Sally Cartwright, Luton Council Director of Public Health, stresses the importance of consumers in Luton having the best possible chance of living a healthy life. 

“This new policy is just one example of what we’re doing to make it easier to be healthy. We’ll be working collaboratively with businesses to ensure they can advertise healthy food and drink on council-owned advertising.”

According to Councillor Khtija Malik, portfolio holder for Public Health, eating habits have more recently moved toward convenience foods that are easy to prepare. “However, the consequences of consuming these products are severe, especially in children, and can include increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cardiovascular disease.”

“Therefore, to protect children and adults, we must do what we can to reduce their exposure to unhealthy food and drink advertising. The Luton Healthier Food and Drink Advertising Policy will contribute to the council’s 2040 vision to improve the health outcomes for our residents,” Malik underscores. 

Global obesity strategies 
Last month, the World Health Organization released new guidance recommending countries implement comprehensive mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from marketing foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are HFSS.

While local authorities are taking action in the UK, the national government has proactively stalled on anti-obesity measures. 

Laws to restrict unhealthy food adverts have been paused, despite being a vital part of the government’s obesity strategy.

The national government committed to a total online ban and a 9 pm TV watershed restriction on unhealthy food advertising. However, they still need to see these policies commence. Under Rishi Sunak’s government, they were delayed by a further two years in December 2022, a delay which pushes them back three years after the date they originally committed to.

This comes after the Obesity Health Alliance’s research found that eight out of 10 adults support the government restricting unhealthy food advertising to children on TV (79%) and online (81%). 

Most recently, the national government has also introduced a further two-year delay to restrictions on multibuy promotions. These promotions led to 22% more spending on unhealthy food and drinks, so this policy would have supported more people from being flooded with unhealthy food and drinks and be in a better position to put healthy food on the dinner table. 

As the cost of living crisis exacerbates, staggering numbers of people cannot afford healthy food.

Edited by Elizabeth Green