Have just come across this interesting article in today's Times:

Labour will ban junk-food adverts on children's TV
By Sam Lister, Health Correspondent and Greg Hurst

LABOUR will make a ban on advertisements for junk food during children’s television programmes a key manifesto pledge for the general election to show its commitment to tackling childhood obesity.
Producers of confectionery, fizzy drinks and fast food will be banned from advertising on television at particular times of the day under the law.

The move comes after scathing criticism of the Government in a report by the Commons Health Select Committee, which concluded that ministers had failed repeatedly to address the nation’s weight problems.

Despite being known to favour educating the public on healthy eating rather than implementing laws, John Reid, the Health Secretary, has decided to take the “nuclear option” of an advertising ban to stem the alarming rise of youth obesity.

The committee’s report, published last week, detailed how a three-year-old girl weighing more than 6st had died from heart failure. Doctors who treated her gave warning to the committee that the tragedy was likely to become commonplace if action was not taken to curb obesity in the young.

Mr Reid responded by telling his officials to draw up laws banning junk food advertising during prime-time children’s television, but allowing it during adult programmes. Exactly how “junk food” will be defined remains unclear.

A White Paper on public health, which will contain the proposal for the ban, will be published in the autumn. However, with a general election expected next summer, the Government is not expected to introduce a Bill to Parliament during the next session. Instead, the measure will become a key vote-winning pledge in Labour’s manifesto.

Aides said that Mr Reid was persuaded to back the move by arguments that, while adults can make “informed choices” about what they eat, this option is not available to younger children. About 1,150 adverts for junk food are shown daily during children’s programmes, according to research.

Labour MPs expect an official announcement on the advertisement ban at their party’s annual conference in Brighton in September.

Tony Blair yesterday reiterated the need for individuals to take more responsibility for their waistlines, and not rely on government health strategies.

Speaking on the BBC One programme Breakfast with Frost, the Prime Minister said: “I am responsible for many things, but I can’t make people slimmer. The prime responsibility for people looking after themselves is with people. What I can do is encourage, for example, sport in schools, which we are expanding. We can give information to people, we can try to get the food industry to behave responsibly.”

The committee’s report said that obesity has grown by almost 400 per cent in 25 years, with three quarters of adults overweight or obese. England has the fastest-growing obesity problem in Europe. The report calculates that being overweight or obese costs the nation £7.4 billion a year.

Martin Paterson, the deputy director-general of the Food and Drink Federation, said that the industry, which spends hundreds of millions of pounds on television advertising each year, saw little benefit in a ban. “We have seen examples of bans in Quebec and Sweden, for example, but making no difference,” he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...1129085,00.html