free refills of sugary beverages will soon be a thing of the past in the u.k. as downing street heads into the new year determined to take on the country’s expanding waistline.
the new rules, which were reportedly prompted by prime minister boris johnson’s
newfound focus on 2022年世界杯名单猜测 after contracting covid-19, will come into effect next april. in addition to turning off the faucet on bottomless beverages, the restrictions prevent “buy one, get one free” promotions on unhealthy foods in an attempt to get the country to make better dietary decisions. unhealthy deals will no longer be permitted near the cash register, store entrance, at the ends of aisles — or at their online equivalents, such as on home and landing pages.“i am determined to help parents, children and families in the u.k. make healthier choices about what they eat,” said matt hancock, the uk’s health secretary,
according to the guardian. “we know children spend more time online. parents want to be reassured they are not being exposed to adverts promoting unhealthy foods, which can affect habits for life.”almost two-thirds of adults in the u.k. are overweight or living with
obesity,
according to the u.k. government, as are roughly one in three children upon departure from primary school. it estimates that children under 16 were exposed to around 15 billion junk food ads in 2019, up from 700 million in 2017. addressing illnesses connected to the
obesity epidemic take an economic toll on the country that exceeds $10-billion per year.“we know families want to be presented with healthier choices,” said public health minister jo churchill. “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.”the restriction on the location of promotions only applies to stores that are larger than 2,000 square feet in size. specialty shops — such as candy or chocolate stores — are exempt. these promotions, often made successful by the “pester power” of children, have been shown to increase sales of soft drinks by over 50 per cent.canada has long been waging its own battle of the bulge with more than 10 million adults expected to be
living with obesity by 2025. there are currently no federal laws regulating the advertising of food to children, with the
child health protection act — a measure intended to prohibit ads targeting children 12 years of age or younger — dying on the order paper when parliament dissolved ahead of the 2019 federal election.this month, however, health canada announced its intention to spend $200,00
studying the impact of social media food ads aimed at children. the move is welcome news, provided it leads to real action, said manuel arango, the director of policy and advocacy at the heart and stroke foundation,
according to the national observer.“we’re hoping that the government lives up to its commitment and puts forward government legislation,” he said. “we need food companies to provide food, but they have a responsibility to provide healthier food and the government has a responsibility to improve kids’ nutrition and the nutrition of all canadians.”
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.cadon’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s newsletter coming out of covid for daily updates on the top 世界杯决赛2022 and the healthing weekender delivered to your inbox on saturday.
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