Junk food TV ads to be banned pre-watershed in UK from October 2025

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/12/junk-food-tv-ads-to-be-banned-pre-watershed-in-uk-from-october-2025?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-5

Posted by BestButtons

16 Comments

  1. I’m happy for them to be entirely banned everywhere. Create a solid legal definition of super processed foods that can’t be advertised, create a market for healthier, non super profitable foods

  2. What does ‘junk food’ mean in this context? The article doesn’t define it. Does it include, for example, a jar of industrially produced pasta sauce with added salt and sugar? Ready meals? Chicken nuggets? Frozen pizzas? Or is it just takeaway fast food?

  3. We’ll ban adverts but literally every street is lined with takeaways and corner shops with an abundance of crap to eat.

  4. There’s an argument (that tbh I’m not 100% sure I entirely agree with) for banning any adverts for food that make anything approaching a health claim.

  5. EbbIntelligent9324 on

    The nanny state strikes again, what’s next? Banning junk food in general? Banning coca cola, alchohol? why not ban everything that’s not vegetables at this point

  6. Do kids watch that much tv anymore? Im guessing this is also gonna apply to streaming platforms

  7. Any-Competition3770 on

    Yes because the youth are watching soooo much TV.

    What a waste of tax payers money. Another nothing burger to stoke some tits ego. 

  8. Another blow for our struggling broadcasters who are already seeing much reduced advertising revenue.

  9. Junk food? Fast food? Processed food? Frozen food? Arguably all are terrible for humans. Imagine a world where we only see adverts for fresh veg and meat

  10. People who refute the idea that obesity is due to lack of will power often cite societal pressures as a reason why it’s not simply that. Well this is part of the solution. These companies pay for advertisement because it works, but we shouldn’t be allowing them to manipulate the minds of the young by normalising and incentivising unhealthy lifestyles.

  11. Parents will continue to take their kids to Mackies, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc, often as a treat, despite this intrusive government.

  12. I have yet to see a definitive description of what “junk food” means, and how it relates to obesity.

    Obesity is caused by a **surplus** of food – any food.

    Eating one burger or five burgers is the obesity factor, not eating a burger instead of a carrot.