TV advertising restrictions in the UK, aimed at curbing the broadcast of junk food to children under the age of 16, have come under fire from consumer association Which? today (19 September).
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In a report, Which? criticised the rules and urged the UK government to tighten the regulations to “stop children being exposed to unhealthy foods”.
Which? claimed that the rules, introduced in January to ban ads promoting products high in fat sugar and salt from being aired in and around programmes aimed at under-16s, were not working.
The association said the regulations were based on the proportion of children under-16 watching, rather than the actual number of that age group in the audience.
As a consequence, Which? claimed, the restrictions did not cover the programmes with the five highest audiences of under-16s. Just four of the top 20 were also covered by the rules, the report said.
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By GlobalDataDuring the two-week period analysed by Which?, ads for products including Oreos and Coco Pops, were still being broadcast in and around programmes most watched by children.
Which? food campaigner Clare Corbett said: “The ad restrictions may look good on paper but the reality is that the programmes most popular with children are slipping through the net. If these rules are going to be effective, then they have to apply to the programmes that children watch in the greatest numbers.”
She added: “We’re not anti-advertising, we’re just against the fact that most of the ads children see are for unhealthy products, rather than the healthier foods they should be eating more of.”
However, the Advertising Association criticised the Which? report as “sensationalist, unconstructive and missing the point”.
The association’s chief executive, Baroness Buscombe, said the Which? report included programmes not aimed at children and called on parents to consider which programmes children should watch.
“One has to question why Which? are advocating simplistic and heavy-handed restrictions which are likely to produce unintended consequences and won’t tackle the root cause of obesity,” she said. “Which? appear to want to unfairly restrict the ability of companies to deliver commercial messages.”
Baroness Buscombe said that there had been “real change” in food advertising in the UK in recent years. She added: “The advertising industry takes a very responsible approach to food advertising and is acutely aware of the importance of safe, responsible standards.”
Ofcom, the UK’s advertising watchdog, is reviewing the restrictions and is set to report to the UK government later in the year.
