Harriet Harman joins celebrities and experts in new campaign to protect children from junk food adverts

Over 50 health, consumer and children's organisations, and celebrities such as Raymond Blanc, Antony Worrall Thomson and Prue Leith, have written to senior politicians urging them to protect children from junk food TV advertising before 9pm.

And in a significant boost to the campaign, Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP – a candidate for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party – has pledged her support.

The letter, put together by the Children's Food Campaign and signed by organisations including the BMA, British Heart Foundation, National Children's Bureau and all of the major teaching unions, asked senior politicians in all parties to support the Television Advertising (Food) Bill introduced by Baroness Thornton.  The Bill will:

• end television advertising for high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food and drink before 9pm;
  
• restrict advertising of food 'ranges' containing HFSS items before 9pm; and
  
• prevent the sponsorship of pre-watershed programmes by HFSS products.

The letter said: “The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has described the crisis in children and young people's diets as a health 'time bomb' which must be defused. Lord Krebs, the former Chair of the Food Standards Agency, has warned that for the first time in more than a century, life expectancy may fall - with the real prospect that children may live shorter lives than their parents.  If this Bill is passed, children and young people will be properly protected from junk food advertising on television, providing potentially important benefits to their health.”

Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP said: “Childhood obesity is one of the great challenges of our age.  Many parents tell me that it is increasingly difficult to help their children to eat healthily because of the constant bombardment of adverts for junk foods.  With more and more children becoming obese and overweight, now is the right time for us to move faster to give parents and children the protection they deserve from junk food adverts.”

Dr Mike Rayner, Chair of the Children's Food Campaign welcomed this support, saying:  “We are delighted that Harriet Harman has endorsed our call to protect children from junk food advertising. The momentum behind a 9pm watershed is growing – over 230 backbench MPs from all parties now support it.  As we approach a key Parliamentary debate on this issue on 8 June we hope to get more support in the next few days.”

Maura Gillespie, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for the British Heart Foundation said: “A 9pm watershed for junk food TV is a necessary step to stop the rise in diet-related ill-health among children.  Talk of a health 'time bomb' is not overstated.  This is the kind of firm action necessary if the Government is to meet its own targets to improve children's health.”

Ends

For further information please contact Richard Watts on 07710 782719 or 0203 5596 777.

Download letter as 361kb PDF

 

Note to editors:

1) A copy of the letter is downloadable with this media release.  A print quality version is available on request. 

2)  The Children's Food Campaign wants to improve children's health and well-being through better food - and food teaching - in schools, and protecting children from junk food marketing.  We are supported by over 300 organisations and 12,000 members of the public.  We were behind the ground-breaking Children's Food Bill introduced into Parliament last year.  The Children's Food Campaign is coordinated by Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

3) A 9pm watershed restriction on high fat, sugar and salt foods would reduce children's exposure to this type of advertising by 82%. Such a measure is supported by a broad coalition of health, children's and consumer groups as well as by Ofcom's own advisory committee for England, the Office of the Children's Commissioner, and the Food Standards Agency.  A British Heart Foundation / TNS poll last year found that 69% of parents supported a 9pm watershed.

4) Research by Which? has shown just how ineffective the new rules on TV junk food advertising are.  The new rules will not affect advertising during the 26 commercial TV programmes most watched by children or in any of the time periods when most children are watching. 

5)Over 230 MPs have signed a motion in support of the Bill.  The full list of signatories for EDM 404 is here: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=32033&SESSION=885 

6) Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said on 25 October 2006 on GMTV, when talking about the childhood obesity crisis: “we have got to do something about television advertising before the watershed hour”.