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Ofcom consultation on TV food advertising to children: 100 to one favour 9pm watershed ban

26 September 2006

Ofcom consultation on TV food advertising to children: 100 to one in favour of 9pm watershed ban

Calls of support for a 9pm restriction on TV junk food advertising to children outnumber those for Ofcom's most popular package of proposals by more than 100 to one, according to an analysis by the National Heart Forum of responses published on the Ofcom website.

A review of responses shows that 1,109 support a 9pm restriction, including 29 national health charities and organisations, 14 consumer and public interest organisations and Ofcom's own advisory committee for England. Over 1,000 parents and concerned individuals have written to Ofcom calling for an end to advertising for high fat, sugar and salt foods during the hours that children watch television, which includes programmes up to the 9pm watershed. Their plea was also backed by the Office of the Children's Commissioner and the government's own food regulator, the Food Standards Agency.

Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference today (Tuesday 26 September), Jane Landon, deputy chief executive of the National Heart Forum said: "Ofcom has argued throughout the consultation process that a 9pm ban on junk food advertising would be "disproportionate". Yet these responses to their own consultation bear witness to the widespread and rising concern about the damage to children's health and well-being from commercial pressures to eat unhealthy foods. As Ofcom makes up its mind about what action to propose, it will surely have to rethink its notions of proportionality both in terms of the huge public health gains from a 9pm ban, and of such overwhelming public support. "

 

Notes to editors

Notes to editors:

1. The National Heart Forum (NHF) is an alliance of 50 national organisations working to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the UK's biggest single - yet largely preventable - cause of death and disease. See: www.heartforum.org.uk

2. In May this year, the NHF announced that it was seeking judicial review against Ofcom, arguing that it is conspicuously unfair of the regulator to exclude from full and fair consideration a 9pm watershed for junk food advertising in its consultation. The NHF's claim was supported by its members and collaborating bodies including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians, the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, the National Children's Bureau, The Royal Society for Public Health, the Faculty of Public Health, the National Union of Teachers, the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart & Stroke Association, Sustain, the International Obesity Task Force, the Health Education Trust, and Which? (formerly the Consumers' Association).

3. On 8 June, Ofcom posted on its website a supplemental consultation paper. In it, Ofcom presented new information for the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) and corrected errors in the data and modeling in the original RIA. The result was that both the costs and the benefits of all three worked-up policy packages were reduced. The costs for a 9pm restriction were also reduced (by about £30 million) but the benefits remain the same (82% reduction of advertising impacts on children). The 9pm watershed was now referred to as an "option" on which Ofcom said it would "welcome representations", but held to its view that the 9pm option does not meet Ofcom's regulatory objectives and would be disproportionate.

4. Jane Landon was speaking at a fringe meeting on 'Childhood for Sale' in Manchester alongside contributors from the Office of the Children's Commissioner, Sustain, the National Union of Teachers and the pressure group, Compass.

5. 1,173 non-confidential responses to the Ofcom consultation are posted at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/foodads/responses/    Of the submissions received: 

6. Ofcom is due to announce the outcome of its consultation in the Autumn.