UK to ban advertising junk food on the Internet and on daytime television in the fight against childhood obesity, in a country where state intervention in such matters is criticized as an intrusion into privacy.
The introduction of the ban, which was included in the Labour Party’s election manifesto that led to it Keir Starmer to power in July, is due to take office on 1 October 2025, the British government has confirmed.
The announcement comes shortly after Starmer announced his intention reform the National Health System (NHS) which is in deep crisis, prioritising prevention.
“More than one in five children in England are overweight or obese by the time they start primary school, and this rate drops to one in three by the end of primary school,” said Andrew Gwynne, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health and Prevention.
The junk food measure “will help protect children from advertising for less healthy foods, which evidence suggests is influencing their food preferences at an early age”.
Specifically, the government plans to ban advertising for excessively fatty, excessively sweet or excessively salty foods before 9pm on television and elsewhere on the Internet.
The restrictions had been proposed by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives but were delayed to give the industry time to adjust.
The Labour government plans further measures to strengthen prevention in the health sector, such as a ban on energy drinks for children under 16.
These types of measures are criticized by a part of the public opinion that considers them a violation of individual freedom. Many conservative media are already denouncing the intention of the Labour government to create a “nanny state”.
The think tank The Center for Young Lives, in a report published today, calls on the government to “ignore nanny state opponents and raise sugar taxes, primarily to improve children’s dental health.”