
The House of Commons Library recently published a research briefing on obesity. The paper covers the work of the UK Government in preventing and reducing obesity and includes chapters on the childhood obesity plan, the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), and the ‘tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ policy paper.
Chapter 7 covers the consultation on introducing further restrictions on advertising products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). This particular consultation has come under heavy criticism from industry with many claiming that the implementation date of the end of 2022 and consultation period of just six weeks were far too short.
In 2019 the government consulted on restricting advertising of HFSS for TV and online. It asked for views on whether to extend current advertising restrictions on broadcast TV and online media, including consulting on watershed restrictions. In July 2020 the government confirmed its intention to introduce a 9pm watershed on TV. This new consultation goes further and looks at how a total HFSS advertising restriction could be implemented online. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 22nd December 2020 and can be found here.
The House of Commons Research Briefing can be downloaded here