Health Canada considers sweeping ban on junk food ads aimed at children and teens

[Tennis]

Health Canada is considering a widespread ban on the marketing of unhealthy food to kids under the age of 17. It could cover everything from TV, online and print advertising to product labelling, in-store displays and even end some sponsorships for sports teams.

The federal government announced the first step in St. John's this morning by launching public consultations on how foods are marketed to kids in Canada.

"Most of the foods that are marketed to kids are these ones that are high in fat, high in sugar, high in sodium, so that's what we're looking at," said Hasan Hutchinson, director general at Health Canada, who is overseeing the consultations.

"That would then cut out all of the things like, of course, your regular soda, most cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, ice cream, most cheeses because they are high in fat, they're high in salt," he said.

Health Canada would also target foods such as sugar-sweetened yogurt, frozen waffles, fruit juice, granola bars and potato chips.

The federal government looked at the Quebec ban on advertising to children, which has been in place since 1980.

In that province, companies can't market unhealthy food to children under 13 years old. But Health Canada wants to go further, banning marketing to any person under 17.

"We know of course that children under 13 are particularly impressionable. But we feel that evidence is showing that teens [in the] 13- to 17-year-old age group are equally a vulnerable group," Hutchinson said.

He points to the fact that many young teens have their own income for the first time, and are not as closely supervised by their parents.
Targeting high caffeine drinks

It is an argument Senator Nancy Greene Raine supports.

The Conservative senator introduced a private member's bill last November that would have banned junk food advertising to children under 13.

But in her first appearance before the Senate committee studying her bill earlier this month, Greene Raine told senators she will be amending her bill to raise the age once it goes for clause-by-clause consideration.


"Some products that are being marketed to teenagers are, in my mind, very harmful. Red Bull. Rockstar. These highly caffeinated soft drinks are working on the adolescents — they like those products. But targeting them is really unhealthy," Greene Raine said.

And she worries bad food choices made as teenagers lead to bad food choices in adulthood.

"A predilection to choosing foods high in sugar, salt, and fat as teenagers, can result in poor food choices for the rest of their lives," said Greene Raine. "It's recognized as one of the precursors to becoming overweight and obese, leading to all kinds of other chronic diseases."
Sports teams

As part of the consultations, Health Canada is asking the public if the advertising ban should extend to sponsorships of sports teams.

Hutchinson said this is one area he thinks there could be some pushback from parents, who may believe sponsorships are critical for small sports teams to operate.

"They're advertising because it has an effect. There's a reason why they're putting money into those sorts of programs," Hutchinson said.

Greene Raine said she understands the link between sponsorships and sports — the senator won gold and silver medals for skiing at the 1968 Olympics, later becoming a spokesperson for Mars bars.

Still, Raine believes there should be some kind of limit on sponsorship of sports teams by companies that sell junk food.

"When you see things like: 'wear your team jersey and come to our fast food outlet and we'll give you a free slushie,' that crosses the line," Raine said.
Parenting Obesity Landscape

Proposed changes to the food guide would include a list of foods to be avoiding altogether, including pop and other sugary drinks. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)
Revising the Canada Food Guide

Health Canada is also launching a second round of consultations on the revised Canada Food Guide.

There were nearly 20,000 submissions in the first round of consultations in the fall of 2016, including 14,000 from the public.

The guide lists the foods Canadians should use as the foundation of a good diet, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

But for the first time, Health Canada is also listing the foods that should be avoided outright.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/junk...-ban-1.4153594

A good first step. Eventually we just need to start banning the most unhealthy foods. The time for tiptoeing around has passed.

[Deleted]

Absolutely. After all Mother Russia knows best.

[Rhaide]

Absolutely. After all Mother Russia knows best.

This is really all the needs to be said. Thank you @thevoicefromwithin, /thread.

[Baelic]

The problem isn't the kids, I can assure you that.

[Forgettable]

This can only be a good thing for everyone except the people behind those awful food companies. The sooner those companies die, the better.

[Mittens]

Why not tax it? Seems more effective and the government gets that sweet revenue.

[EliWallach]

Why not just make them illegal?

[Spiral Mage]

Junk food is good, though. The real problem is moderation. You can eat a lot of things if you're careful about how much of something you eat or drink. IMO, there's nothing wrong with marketing the stuff.

Kids just need to be better informed about moderation and how much of a good thing you can have before it becomes a bad thing instead. Heck, you can die from drinking water .. granted, you have to drink an insane amount, but .. there was a dude who died from eating too many carrots because he really, really loved them.

Just have to watch how much of something you eat.

I drink too much soda. I should drink more tea and more water than I do. It doesn't make soda inherently bad. My behavior is the problem.

[Mittens]

Why not just make them illegal?

Junk food? When you ban something people like you can expect a black market for it.

[Sesshou]

The problem isn't the kids, I can assure you that.

Yeah, it isn't like the kids are buying it, and odds are the parents buy it because they're eating it too. I don't think I've ever seen a fat kid with fit parents.

[Baelic]

Yeah, it isn't like the kids are buying it, and odds are the parents buy it because they're eating it too. I don't think I've ever seen a fat kid with fit parents.

There probably are some kids buying it, but the job rests on their parents to teach them self-control. Cause it is quite possible to eat junk food and still be healthy, you just have to remind yourself that it's only a treat.

[Shadoweye]

God forbid personal responsibility should be on the forefront of any parents mind... Lets just take decision making out of everyone's lives and be fucking sheep, with our government shepherds dictating what we can and cannot do

[dopefishz]

Tennis back at it again I see. I can't wait for your next ban.

[Rudkobing]

Just let the fat, little bastards eat junk food if they want. Its not the end of the world if they have 5 seconds of pleasure from eating Captain Williewonk's Sugar Explosion.

[Azadina]

Yeah, it isn't like the kids are buying it, and odds are the parents buy it because they're eating it too. I don't think I've ever seen a fat kid with fit parents.

I haven't either. Kids who get fat only do so because they imitate their parents unhealthy habits. Which more often than not is enabled by said parents too.

[Masark]

with our government shepherds dictating what we can and cannot do

Corporations do not get to be included in the word "we".

[Celista]

I agree with the marketing ban, you can get diabetes just from watching the commercials aired during children's TV shows...

[shadowmouse]

Joe Camel rides again!



http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_...me=Joe%20Camel

There is a precedent for companies specifically targeting young markets to increase sales, despite that product being unhealthy.

[GreenJesus]

The problem is that they specifically make them "empty" and loaded with sugar so you feel the need to constantly eat more but never feel satisfied. They don't taste that great, but they have some chemical reaction in our bodies that demands we have more for some inane reason.

[Seranthor]

A good first step. Eventually we just need to start banning the most unhealthy foods. The time for tiptoeing around has passed.

Who gets to decide what counts as 'unhealthy'? How exactly are you going to go about 'banning' foods? How are you going to manage to justify it? Do you really think the Supreme Court is going to uphold the legislation, IF you some how manage to get a law passed?