CALL FOR LAWS TO BAN JUNK FOOD MARKETING
New legal
controls, including cross-border laws, are needed to halt all marketing of junk
food and soft drinks to children up to 16 years, according to new proposals from
obesity experts.
The only promotions permitted to target children should be for foods
which meet strict criteria for a healthy diet, says the International
Association for the Study of Obesity’s policy arm, the International
Obesity Taskforce.
An IOTF working group is calling for legal steps as part of an
international code on marketing to control to govern satellite as well as
terrestrial television, along with guarantees that schools are keep
‘commercial-free’. The recommendations form part of the
‘Sydney Principles’ which set out seven broad conditions which
should underpin the development of global standards on marketing.
The World Health Organization in
The IOTF report, just published in the journal Public Health Nutrition,
is based on the working group’s own consultation with consumer groups,
NGOs, industry associations and ministries. It found that “self-regulatory
codes, by their nature, even if fully enforced, would not substantially reduce
the large volume and high impact of marketing obesogenic foods and beverages to
children.”
“Their reach appears to be limited and fragmented, especially in
low-income countries, and, arguably, the undertakings by some large food
companies to refrain from marketing to children are inconsistent and very
limited in scope,” the report added.
The working group noted there was “very strong support for
regulations to cover all commercial promotions, given that children are being
increasingly targeted through a variety of marketing strategies such as
sponsorships, competitions, loyalty schemes, websites, mobile phone text
messages and viral marketing.” There was strong support to ensure commercial-free
childhood settings.
Prof
Around 70% of those who responded to the IOTF felt restrictions should apply at
least up the age of 16, with significant support to go further by adopting the
‘human rights’ definition in the United Nations Rights of the Child
Convention which goes up to 18.
He acknowledged that the food and beverage as well as the advertising sectors
objected to the statutory approach. “The
Sydney Principles are based on ethical values and how best to protect children and
the rights of children to be free from commercial exploitation. This is where
the discussion of marketing to children now needs to be centred.”
“The pledges by some companies to self-regulation
are limited and self serving and these voluntary commitments do not apply
across the board. There are many major companies that are not even signing up
to these limited measures. This clearly demonstrates why there have to be
strong global standards and why national governments need to implement these
standards through legislation to ensure that all businesses comply,”
added Prof Swinburn.
He said there was now a groundswell of support for a
model international code on marketing to children, which had been prepared by
Consumers International in conjunction with the IOTF and backed by I
In the UK Ofcom, the government regulatory agency, has
introduced restrictions on advertising to children under 16, but only where
they form the majority of the audience. Ofcom was criticized for not curbing
advertising around prime time viewing where children form a large part of a
mixed audience with adults. The
rules do not affect internet and mobile phone promotions which are becoming
increasingly popular commercial techniques for targeting youngsters.
“The Sydney Principles reflect the basic rights
of children and they should be the yardstick by which we measure the actions of
governments and food companies to
protect those rights” said Professor Swinburn.
13/08/08
|
The seven ‘ 1. SUPPORT THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN to safe, nutritious food 4. TAKE A WIDE DEFINITION OF
COMMERCIAL PROMOTIONS to encompass
all types of commercial targeting of children 6. INCLUDE CROSS-BORDER MEDIA in
international regulatory agreements |
Links
http://www.iotf.org/sydneyprinciples/index.asp
International Code on Marketing of Food and Beverages to Children:
http://iotf.org/documents/ConsumersInternationalMarketingCode.pdf
Consumers
International
http://junkfoodgeneration.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=64
UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
Contacts:
Professor of Population Health
WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention
Deakin University
221 Burwood Highway
Melbourne 3125 Australia.
Phone: +61,3 9251 7096, 0407 53 99 41 (mobile)
Email: boyd.swinburn@deakin.edu.au
Director
of Policy and Public Affairs
International Association
for the Study of Obesity/International Obesity TaskForce
Global
Tel +442076911902
Mobile +447939250347
email: nrigby@iaso.org