Calls for government to put digital black-out on junk food ads
The Australian government is being urged to introduce a digital black-out ban on “unhealthy food and drink advertising”.
In a statement released this week, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on government to enforce tougher laws on junk food advertising, saying it would help establish healthy eating habits from a young age.
In a submission to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the AMA not only called for a digital black-out on junk food advertising, but also for heavy restrictions on television advertising, sponsorship, and new promotion and placement rules in the retail sector.
“Limiting junk food advertisements and marketing is about nurturing health in our children, providing them with the opportunity to make healthy choices well into adulthood,” AMA president, professor Steve Robson, said.
“Eating habits start young, when kids are highly susceptible to marketing ploys.
“Junk food marketing at the sports field, in the shops, on tv or online gives the wrong message by making unhealthy food feel completely normal.”
The submission to the Department of Health and Aged Care calls for restrictions on all junk food marketing across media platforms and outlets between 5.30am and 11pm, for the government to implement “tight restrictions on unhealthy food sponsorship of sports, arts and cultural events” and to address the processed food and advertising industries being allowed to regulate themselves.
“Allowing the processed food and advertising industries to set their own rules does not effectively protect children from exposure to unhealthy food marketing,” Robson said.
“We need to restrict placement and promotion of unhealthy food within retail environments, and we want a policy to extend beyond traditional media and include parts of our daily lives where children are influenced.”
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Neil Griffiths is the editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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So basically sports just no longer exists in Australia, from the grass roots to the professional level.
Tobacco? Nope
Gambling? Nope
Junk food? Nope
Alcohol? Nope
Reminds me of a poem…
Who does the AMA think is going to take on the giant sponsorship deals? Just Toyota and Qantas with 50% SOV each across every code in the country?
Who is going to sponsor and support local clubs – Just the local real estate agents and used car dealers (because those two are saints)?
Unfortunately the companies with the most disposable marketing budget to dump into sponsorships are those profiting from vice. They have juicy margins and an addicted customer base, its just how it is.
Maybe the AMA can sponsor every local sports club in the country and we can all drink from AMA branded water coolers.
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