PM scraps TV ban on junk food deals ‘to help poorer families’

A BAN on junk food advertising has been scrapped by the Government as part of measures to help shoppers afford cheap meals.

Ministers will delay a pre-9pm ban on TV adverts for “buy-one get-one-free” deals and unhealthy snacks following cuts to the UK’S healthy living policies brought in during the pandemic.

It comes after the Prime Minister blamed his weight for falling seriously ill with Covid-19 in 2020.

Boris Johnson said later that year that he was “too fat” as ministers urged Britons to see the pandemic as a “deadly wake-up call” about obesity levels.

This prompted him to announce an obesity strategy which banned TV advertising of unhealthy food and multibuy deals on junk food before 9pm. This came alongside an army of “weight loss coaches” at GP surgeries to persuade people to live healthier lives.

A year later Mr Johnson announced a Government-backed rewards programme for families switching to healthier food and exercising.

Now, immersed in the cost of living crisis and the economic repercussions of the conflict in Ukraine, the Government is scaling back its plans.

Last month The Daily Telegraph reported that £100million of funding for fitness coaches and weight loss apps had been scrapped, meaning that the Department of Health has to fund it from existing budgets.

The Government’s overall ban on multibuy promotions on food and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar – including restrictions on free refills for soft drinks in the hospitality sector – will come into force in October next year.

Restrictions on promoting unhealthy food such as placing sweets next to the check-out will end in October as planned.

Prof Rachel Batterham, adviser to the Royal College of Physicians, said the move was “incredibly short-sighted”. She said: “Many have cited the cost of living crisis as a reason to keep buy-one get-one-free deals but research is clear they don’t save us money, they simply encourage us to spend more of it.”

Maggie Throup, the Public Health minister, said: “Pausing restrictions on deals will allow us to understand its impact on consumers in light of an unprecedented global economic situation.”