Canada has formulated a strategy to limit the broadcast and digital content that encourages the consumption of unhealthy food and beverages.
The administration plans to modify the laws to tighten the regulation of advertisements for items that have high levels of sodium, sugars, or saturated fat. The suggestions will serve as the groundwork for a preliminary version of the law that will be subjected to public review in 2024.
The scope of the restrictions is expected to encompass both TV and online advertisements for sweets, chocolates, and drinks that are aimed at children who are under 13 years old.
The suggested limitations would be applicable to all enterprises engaged in promoting food and drink to children, which might consist of food and drink manufacturers, importers, and producers, retailers and restaurants, digital and broadcasting media, as well as marketing and advertising agencies, among others.
“Today’s update represents an important first step in restricting the advertising of certain foods and beverages to children to help protect them from the risks of an unhealthy diet, now and later in life,“ a Health Canada spokesperson said in a statement. “To support potential further restrictions that will lead to healthier habits for children, Health Canada will continue to monitor food advertising to children across a variety of settings, media, and techniques.”
Referring to information accumulated since 2015, Health Canada revealed that the majority of children are exposed to commercials promoting fast food, snacks, sugary drinks, desserts, and sugary cereals on a weekly basis.
In 2019, the average child and adolescent in Canada were shown over 1,700 television commercials for food and drinks, resulting in an average of approximately five ads every hour, according to the study’s results.
The health authority aims to implement the limitations to decrease the possibility of children and adults developing obesity, overweight, and chronic health problems linked to diet. Additionally, in the previous year, Canada declared its intention to make it obligatory for food items that contain high levels of saturated fat, sugars, or sodium to display front-of-package nutrition symbols.
The advertising plans put forward by Health Canada were received positively by Heart & Stroke, a Canadian non-profit organization committed to advocating, educating, and financing research on heart disease and stroke.
“Kids are bombarded with ads for unhealthy food and beverages everywhere they turn – from websites and social media to product packaging and retail settings – and they deserve to be protected,” said Heart & Stroke CEO Doug Roth. “We are encouraged to see progress on the development of regulations that would restrict marketing to kids and look forward to reviewing Health Canada’s proposed policy.
“We will continue to advocate for regulations restricting the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to kids across all types of media by fall 2023.”
In the UK, comparable limitations on advertising food and drinks that are high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) have been repeatedly delayed or postponed.
In the UK, regulations were proposed to limit the advertising of HFSS products and ban buy-one-get-one-free promotions as part of the government’s efforts to tackle obesity. These restrictions were originally scheduled to come into effect in April 2022, but have since been postponed. The ban on buy-one-get-one-free deals will now be implemented in October 2023, while the curbs on television and online ads for HFSS items have been pushed back to October 2025. These delays have been met with criticism from health experts, who argue that urgent action is needed to address the nation’s obesity crisis.
Henry Dimbleby, the architect of the UK government’s National Food Strategy, resigned in March following his criticism of the Conservative Party’s inadequate efforts to address diet-related illnesses.
The Founder of Leon food chain, Henry Dimbleby, stated that he stepped down from his role to express his views on anti-obesity policies freely.
