Cabinet rift over new plan to curb ads for junk food
A CABINET rift has erupted over plans by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to crack down on junk food TV adverts in a bid to curb child obesity.
The move is being opposed by ministers who privately warn it is an example of ‘the nanny state’. Cabinet sources say David Cameron may be called in to referee the dispute.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that Hunt wants to extend the ban on adverts for products such as Kellogg’s Coco Pops and Coca-Cola from ‘children’s hour’ programmes until the 9pm watershed.
The initiative, backed by doctors, follows Hunt’s vow to make the ‘great scandal’ of childhood obesity his priority.
He described it last week as ‘perhaps the biggest public health challenge of our time’.
Hunt wants to include the new curbs in his national strategy to address Britain’s spiralling weight problem, to be unveiled next month. But sources say several Government ministers oppose the plan, including Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, who is responsible for TV advertising rules.
‘Critics of the plan, such as John, are not fans of knee-jerk nanny-state meddling and unnecessary restrictions on business,’ said a source. ‘They accept child obesity is important but believe personal responsibility is also important and that parents should take the lead, not just the Government.’ Regulations banning television adverts for products high in sugar, fat or salt during programmes designed to appeal to seven- to nine-year-olds were introduced in 2007, then extended to programmes aimed at under 16s.
Some critics said the rules were ‘fantastically complicated’ and led to foods such as Marmite, cheese and raisins being caught by the ad ban – but not Diet Coke or oven chips. Adver- tisers also switched from children’s programmes to family shows later in the evening which, despite being watched by millions of under 16s, are not hit by the ban.
Mr Hunt last week stepped up his drive, warning parents to avoid handing out treats in the school holidays. His ‘anti-obesity’ action plan aims to ‘change the mindset of the next generation’ by urging schools to teach youngsters good habits to pass on to parents and siblings.
Obesity rates in the UK are among the worst in Europe, with a quarter of adults and a fifth of 11-year-olds deemed too fat. But the Advertising Standards Authority yesterday urged caution. A spokesman said: ‘The current rules are proportionate to the role advertising may play in childhood obesity.’
But Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said the new curbs would be ‘a very positive move’.
He added: ‘Advertising influences what we buy. Extending the ban would make it less likely children and their parents would choose unhealthy options.’