Food for Health Alliance backs controversial South Australian ban on junk food ads

A leading health body has thrown its full support behind South Australia’s controversial move to ban junk food ads on public transport assets, saying it’s time to “draw a line in the sand” and protect Aussie kids from unhealthy marketing. Food for Health Alliance executive manager Jane Martin, in a statement released to NewsWire, said the ban, which is now in effect, would influence diets and help pull down the “wallpaper” of junk food ads. “Current food marketing rules in Australia are largely voluntary and controlled by industry itself,” she said. “They’re ineffective, inconsistent and full of loopholes. “As a result, junk food ads bombard kids everywhere they go – on social media, on billboards, on public transport, at sports games. “It is the wallpaper in our children’s lives and it shapes what kids want, what they pester their parents for and, ultimately, what they eat.” The ban prohibits a range of junk food items from being displayed on Adelaide’s buses, trains and trams, including processed meats like ham. Chocolate, lollies, confectionary, desserts, ice creams, soft drinks and chips are all banned from display alongside processed meats, with the measure designed to limit children’s exposure to unhealthy food and drink advertising. The ban ignited controversy in the months before its July 1 introduction, with the Australian Association of National Advertisers pushing hard against what it called a “blanket ban”. “As it stands, this policy bans all processed meats, which means a simple ham salad sandwich can’t be advertised.” AANA chief executive Josh Faulks said in May. “This simply doesn’t make sense and the government should be making evidence-based decisions, not blanket bans that don’t align with nutritional science.” The AANA confirmed with NewsWire it opposed all advertising bans for food and beverages. Health Minister Chris Picton, speaking in May, said the AANA was “scaremongering” and “providing misinformation about this commonsense policy”. “It is not up to advertising industry lobbyists to tell us what can be displayed on our public transport assets,” he said. Some 63 per cent of adults and 35 per cent of children across South Australia are overweight or obese, government figures show. On Tuesday, Ms Martin said the government had made a “smart and necessary step” that was backed by evidence. “After similar restrictions were introduced by Transport for London, expected household purchases of unhealthy food and drinks dropped by more than 1000 calories per week,” she said. “Other cities like Canberra, Amsterdam and New York have also adopted similar policies. “The processed food and advertising industries have had a long, profitable run. “But now it’s time we draw a line and stop letting them promote their unhealthy products to kids on their daily commute.” She warned Australia was already lagging behind international best practice in protecting children from “unhealthy food marketing”. “Our kids are paying the price,” she said. “Over a third of Australian children’s daily energy intake now comes from unhealthy food and drinks, more than 40 per cent for teenagers. “Unhealthy diets are placing children at higher risk of being above a healthy weight in adulthood and from developing type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease or 13 cancers later in life.”