UK Government Consultation: New Rules on Food and Drink Advertising to Children

The UK Government has launched a consultation on the implementation of new rules aimed at further limiting food and drink advertising to children across various media platforms. This includes television, on-demand programme services (ODPS), and paid online advertising.

In 2022, the UK Government introduced legislation mandating additional restrictions on ads for "less healthy" food and drink products. These measures aim to mitigate the potential impact of advertising on children's dietary choices. Ofcom is tasked with enforcing the new restrictions, with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) serving as the frontline regulator. The rules reflecting these restrictions will be integrated into the UK Advertising Codes.

The new rules for less healthy products are set to take effect from October 2025. They will prohibit ads for identifiable less healthy products from appearing on Ofcom-regulated TV services and ODPS between 5:30am and 9:00pm. Additionally, these ads will be banned from paid-for space in online media at any time. Less healthy products, a subset of high fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) items, have been subject to dedicated restrictions in the UK Advertising Codes since 2007. The new rules for less healthy products will complement the existing HFSS rules set by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP).

The consultation encompasses three main areas to support the implementation of the new restrictions:

1. Guidance to accompany the new rules, facilitating their application by advertisers, media owners, and practitioners.

2. Transposition of the legislation into new UK Advertising Code rules for each restriction.

3. Technical updates to existing rules to ensure compatibility between the less healthy product rules and the HFSS advertising rules.

This consultation does not delve into the underlying policy basis for the new restrictions, as these were addressed through prior extensive consultations conducted by the Government leading up to 2021.