The UK Banned Junk Food Advertising for Children 0 20

A law has come into force in the UK that bans junk food advertising online and restricts it on television, Deutsche Welle reports. The new measures fulfill the government's promise to "help parents raise the healthiest generation of children in history," as stated in a press release published on the official UK government website on Monday, January 5.

According to the new regulations, advertisements for "less healthy food" can only be shown on British television after 9:00 PM. In the UK internet segment, the display of such advertisements and videos is subject to a complete ban.

According to The Guardian, the restrictions apply to 13 categories of products high in sugar, fat, and salt. These include sugary drinks (including dairy products such as yogurts), chips, salty crackers and cookies, sugary breakfast cereals, popcorn, chocolate, chewing gum, ice cream, sugary baked goods, pizza, and frozen meals.

Producers of "junk food" in the UK retain the right to advertise their brand during "children's time" on TV and online, as long as the harmful products are not directly shown in such advertisements. Most local companies have already begun to comply with the new regulations, the media reports.

A Third of Children in the UK Suffer from Obesity by the End of School

The British government provides statistics showing the scale of obesity among children. Thus, 22.1 percent of children are overweight or obese upon entering primary school. By the time they finish their education, this figure rises to 35.8 percent. It is noted that dental caries is the primary reason for children aged five to nine visiting a doctor.

Authorities refer to research findings that show advertising influences what and when children eat, shaping their preferences from an early age and increasing the risk of obesity and related diseases. The government believes that the new measures will allow for a reduction of 7.2 billion calories consumed by children annually and decrease the number of children suffering from obesity by 20,000.

In the long term, the new rules are expected to save around £2 billion due to the overall improvement in citizens' health.

The UK - A Positive Example of Implementing a "Sugar Tax"

In recent years, the issue of population obesity has been increasingly discussed by many countries, and London has been actively combating obesity among the population since the mid-2010s. In 2018, the UK introduced a "sugar tax," which means that manufacturers of sugary soft drinks will pay money into the national budget "for their harmfulness."

The UK has repeated the experience of some other countries in this regard; however, London not only introduced a "sugar excise tax" but also provided concessions for manufacturers. For instance, drinks containing up to 5 grams of sugar were exempt from special taxation. If the sugar content was between 5 and 8 grams per 100 milliliters, the manufacturer paid 18 pence per liter to the treasury. If it exceeded 8 grams per 100 milliliters, the tax was 24 pence per liter.

This scale led to a significant reduction in sugar consumption among the population and created an incentive for manufacturers to reconsider the sugar content in soft drinks to save on taxes. Many producers in the country took advantage of this and changed the recipes of their products. The sugar content in carbonated drinks, cola, and similar beverages fell by an average of 29 percent in the first three years after the tax was introduced.

In Germany, there have also been repeated calls in recent years to introduce a tax on sugary drinks. Currently, businesses have voluntarily committed to reducing the amount of sugar in their products. However, this is not enough to solve the problem. It is expected that in the first quarter of 2026, the Bundesrat will consider an initiative proposing the introduction of a "sugar tax" in Germany.