The UK Government has announced that from April 2022 there will be restrictions on the promotion of unhealthy food and drink.
This announcement comes after the government confirmed new rules prohibiting adverts for unhealthy foods and drinks being shown before 9 PM.
A public consultation will take place beforehand giving the UK public a chance to offer their views. To take part in the consultation you can visit the UK Government website
The new restrictions will include:
- A ban on promotional offers such as ‘Buy one get one free’ or other multi-buy offers for unhealthy food and drink
- A ban on free refills on unhealthy drinks in bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues
- No unhealthy food and drink can be placed in promotional locations in store i.e at checkouts, store entrances or at the end of aisles. These restrictions also apply online as unhealthy food and drink will no longer be permitted to be advertised on the website’s home pages or payment pages.
These new restrictions aim to tackle health problems including obesity. At present, health remains a key issue for the UK Government as over 60% of adults in the UK can be classed as obese.
The UK Public Health Minister Jo Churchill explained:
“ We know families want to be presented with healthier choices. This is why we are restricting promotions and introducing a range of measures to make sure the healthy choice is the easy choice”
“Creating an environment which helps everyone eat healthier foods more regularly is crucial to improving the health of the nation”.
Research shows that promotional offers on unhealthy food do not actually save consumer’s money but instead encourages them to buy more.
It should be noted that these new restrictions will only apply to medium and large stores. These companies are defined as those employing more than 50 people and in stores larger than 2000 square feet. The new rules do not apply to smaller stores.
Health campaigners have supported the new rules saying that they will help promote better public health in the future. Supermarkets are being encouraged to focus promotional activities on healthy food and drink options to encour
