The pre-watershed ban on HFSS food and drink ads in the UK, intended to tackle childhood obesity, risks becoming a “paper tiger”, a new report has suggested.
Analysis by innovation agency Nesta says the policy, in force since January, could affect just 1% of ad spend as companies shift spending to channels not covered by the regulation.
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John Barber, the director of healthy life mission at Nesta, said: “The policy is at risk of being a paper tiger. While governments must rightly balance the needs of the public and business, the current restrictions appear to strongly favour the latter.”
According to Nesta, some £2.4bn ($3.2bn) was spent on food and drink advertising in the UK in 2024. It said only 8% of that expenditure falls under the rules covering paid online ads and pre-9pm TV spots for high-fat, salt and sugar products.
The agency attributed the weakened impact to prolonged delays – eight consultations and four postponements over eight years – combined with industry lobbying.
Nesta pointed to various loopholes such as the exclusion of company-owned channels like social media accounts, websites and direct emails.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the report, those channels pose greater risks to children and disadvantaged groups, with direct messages from less healthy brands reaching 65% of the most deprived areas, compared to 45% of the least deprived.
Nesta also identified the omission of outdoor advertising, a channel that has more than tripled since 2004, as a key gap in the policy.
It also said the policy coverage is limited to 13 HFSS categories but 60% of consumer spending falls outside them, missing products such as chocolate spread and toffee-covered nuts.
According to Nesta, closing these loopholes could lift regulated ad spend to around 33% and better protect children from targeted unhealthy marketing.
“The government should look to amend the loopholes in the restrictions, taking care to include popular foods and common advertising tactics so that the legislation can do what it was designed to do – helping us to make healthier choices,” Barber added.
Just Food has approached the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care for comnment.
