{"id":28544,"date":"2022-12-15T12:38:22","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T12:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=25076"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:13:10","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:13:10","slug":"junk-food-marketing-restrictions-so-near-and-yet-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/junk-food-marketing-restrictions-so-near-and-yet-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Junk food marketing restrictions: so near and yet so far"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Supermarket<\/div>\n

The path to policy <\/span>change<\/span> is rarely straightforward. The UK Government\u2019s decision <\/span>last week <\/span>to further delay<\/span> (until October 2025) <\/span>implementing legislation to restrict junk food advertising on TV and online is just the most recent example. That doesn\u2019t stop<\/span> this <\/span>particular <\/span>setback<\/span> hurting<\/span> \u2013<\/span> as it slows down vital progress towards reducing the number of preventable cases of cancer; and<\/span>,<\/span> from a personal perspective<\/span>,<\/span> as <\/span>I\u2019ve been<\/span> campaigning <\/span>for<\/span> this<\/span> policy<\/span> for<\/span> many years<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When the UK Government launched a new strategy to tackle obesity in 2020<\/span>, <\/span>building on their commitment to halve childhood obesity by 2030,<\/span> it was <\/span><\/span>hailed as a \u2018landmark day\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/a> for the nation\u2019s health. But even then, we knew it wasn\u2019t a done deal. <\/span>It<\/span> was then Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2019s brush with serious COVID finally <\/span>helped <\/span>to <\/span>change the political winds in our favour<\/span>;<\/span> and they could just as easily <\/span>turn<\/span> again<\/span>,<\/span> which they now have. <\/span>In the past year <\/span>successive <\/span>P<\/span>rime <\/span>M<\/span>inisters <\/span>have treated<\/span> junk food <\/span>marketing<\/span> restrictions as a political football,<\/span> at the expense of the longer-term health <\/span>and wellbeing <\/span>of children.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Not <\/span>taking action<\/span> now<\/span> to reduce overweight and obesity rates has a direct effect on cancer risk. We need governments to recognise the urgency of this issue. Delay means that more people will be at higher risk of cancers like breast<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/span> bowel and pancreatic cancer in the future. <\/span>And <\/span><\/span>people from <\/span><\/span>more<\/span><\/span><\/span> deprived areas<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> will bear the brunt<\/span> of this<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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If the UK Government is serious about halving childhood obesity and improving cancer outcomes, it cannot keep kicking the can down the road. The Government must reverse its decision and implement these restrictions within the coming year.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What we\u2019re exposed to on our mobile phones, TV screens and high streets plays a big part in what we end up eating. Research by Cancer Research UK found that many <\/span>young people recalled<\/span>, <\/span>and <\/span>they <\/span>offered tangible examples of how this influenced their food choices and purchases. <\/span>S<\/span>uch adverts were especially prevalent on social media<\/span>.<\/span> And the number of places young people are exposed to this advertising <\/span>continues to<\/span> grow<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Presciently, <\/span><\/span>m<\/span>y very first <\/span>foray<\/span><\/span><\/a> in<\/span>to<\/span> this<\/span> policy<\/span> area<\/span> a decade ago <\/span>was on<\/span> the<\/span> food industry\u2019s <\/span>hearty <\/span>appetite <\/span>for<\/span> producing <\/span>online <\/span>content<\/span> which <\/span>appealed to children,<\/span> and regulation failing to <\/span>keep up with <\/span>the rapid rise of new digital platforms.<\/span> More recently, the<\/span> UK <\/span>Government\u2019s own figures <\/span>conservatively <\/span>show that a 9pm watershed for TV adverts of junk food and restrictions on paid online advertising could reduce the number of children with obesity by more than 20,000.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Malcolm Clark<\/p>

” data-medium-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Malcolm-Clark-headshot-200×200-1.jpg” data-large-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Malcolm-Clark-headshot-200×200-1.jpg” decoding=”async” class=” wp-image-25078″ src=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Malcolm-Clark-headshot-200×200-1.jpg” alt=”Headshot of Malcolm Clark” width=”164″ height=”164″ srcset=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Malcolm-Clark-headshot-200×200-1.jpg 200w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Malcolm-Clark-headshot-200×200-1-150×150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Malcolm-Clark-headshot-200×200-1-96×96.jpg 96w” sizes=”(max-width: 164px) 100vw, 164px”><\/p>

Malcolm Clark is senior prevention policy manager at Cancer Research UK. He oversees Cancer Research\u2019s policy work on tobacco, obesity and other cancer prevention risk factors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In April 2022, <\/span>legislation containing these measures was passed with cross-party, and strong public, support<\/span>,<\/span> and was set to be implemented on 1 January 2023<\/span>.<\/span> That had seemed a distant <\/span>prospect<\/span> back in <\/span>early <\/span>2018, when I started working at Cancer Research UK. At the time there was no commitment from the <\/span>UK <\/span>Government to address junk food marketing. <\/span>My <\/span>very <\/span>first week coincided with the publication of <\/span><\/span>research<\/span><\/span><\/a> we commissioned<\/span> which found that <\/span>such<\/span> advertising<\/span> was a \u201cclear, consistent and cumulative risk factor\u201d for high junk food consumption amongst young people.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The report was the first in a series<\/a> published by Cancer Research UK designed to further the evidence base and open the space for policy change. The public health marketing campaign the charity undertook in 2018-19, raising public and politicians\u2019 awareness of the link between overweight and obesity and cancer, was another part of that approach. We also activated our campaigner network, who wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care and repeatedly made their concerns known to their MPs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

P<\/span>arts of the<\/span> food and <\/span>a<\/span>dvertising<\/span> industr<\/span>ies<\/span> ha<\/span>ve <\/span>fought ferociously against the restrictions<\/span>,<\/span> with <\/span>some following<\/span> tobacco and alcohol<\/span>\u2019s playbook <\/span>of<\/span> turning to <\/span><\/span>legal challenges<\/span><\/span><\/a>. And <\/span>an<\/span> alphabet soup of libertarian and free market organisations <\/span>have<\/span> pushed <\/span>their <\/span>s<\/span> and <\/span>conflicts of interest at <\/span>the <\/span>heart <\/span>of Government<\/span>.<\/span> Finding ways to <\/span>counter<\/span> these <\/span>p<\/span>rivate sector activities <\/span>has not been easy<\/span>,<\/span> and as<\/span> last week\u2019s <\/span>decision shows, <\/span>hold significant sway<\/span> in the corridors of power. <\/span>But I know from experience <\/span>with the<\/span> successful<\/span> <\/span>campaign for a sugary drinks tax<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <\/span>it can be done<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The UK<\/span> Government<\/span> chose to delay action <\/span>at the very moment <\/span>that sticks rather than <\/span>carrots<\/span> have been shown to <\/span>have the most impact on industry behaviour. <\/span>The<\/span> Office of Health Improvement and Disparities\u2019 <\/span>latest <\/span>sugar reduction report <\/span>found that <\/span>a voluntary approach was not delivering <\/span>the intended results. <\/span>Further delaying advertising restrictions, which were expected to speed up reformulation progress, risks stalling moves to <\/span><\/span>healthier products in the spotlight<\/span>.<\/span> Even though m<\/span>ost of the UK\u2019s biggest food brands could quite easily switch to marketing healthier options<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/span>if they were made to. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not all bad news. The measures introduced in October this year to prevent the display of junk food at checkouts and aisle ends has already made a real difference to our retail environment. And buy-on<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span><\/span>-get-one-free and other similar promotional offers on junk food are also meant to be outlawed from October 2023, which will be a huge step forward<\/span>. <\/span><\/span> And supermarkets are ready to make this change, with <\/span>Tesco and Sainsbury\u2019s having <\/span>already ended<\/span> multi-buy deals<\/span> on junk food<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> introduction <\/span><\/span>of a <\/span>ban on junk food advertising across<\/span> the<\/span> London transport network <\/span>has <\/span>also <\/span>shown that advertising restrictions are <\/span>workable and <\/span>effective<\/span>. <\/span>A<\/span>nd a<\/span>n increasing number of local and regional authorities are looking to follow <\/span>London\u2019s lead<\/span>. <\/span>T<\/span>he devolved nations, whilst having a <\/span>narrower<\/span> remit<\/span>, are also<\/span> seeking <\/span>to <\/span>make policy progress<\/span>. And the public are still very much in favour of implementing the TV and online HFSS advertising restrictions at the earliest possible opportunity<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span>e<\/span> will continue <\/span>to <\/span>push for <\/span>this to happen, as well as for <\/span>other <\/span>obesity policy <\/span>measures<\/span> which<\/span> the<\/span> UK and devolved governments have committed to introduce<\/span>, by supporting the <\/span><\/span>Obesity Health Alliance<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> (<\/span>of<\/span> which we are a member).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our work goes beyond obesity policy though. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Around<\/span><\/span><\/span> 4 in 10 cases of cancer in UK are preventable<\/span>, and s<\/span>moking is still the biggest cause of cancer<\/span>. <\/span>That is why Cancer Research UK has recently launched<\/span><\/span> a major campaign to bring down smoking rates across the UK. <\/span><\/span> join <\/span>us <\/span><\/span>on this journey<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> to help make sure young people don\u2019t start <\/span>smoking, and<\/span> <\/span><\/span>ensure smokefree funding to help people quit. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

More on this topic<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The path to policy change is rarely straightforward. The UK Government\u2019s decision last week to further delay (until October 2025) implementing legislation to restrict junk food advertising on TV and online is just the most recent example. That doesn\u2019t stop this particular setback hurting \u2013 as it slows down vital progress towards reducing the number […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44776,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28544\/revisions\/44776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}