The UK has implemented a new nationwide ban on junk food advertising on television and online, effective January 2026. This measure, described as "world-leading," aims to combat rising childhood obesity by prohibiting advertisements for products high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) on TV before the 9 pm watershed and banning all paid HFSS ads online.
The government anticipates substantial public health benefits, including removing up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets annually, preventing approximately 20,000 cases of childhood obesity, and delivering around £2 billion in long-term health benefits to the NHS and wider society. The legislation is strongly supported by public health bodies, who view it as a crucial step in preventing diet-related illnesses, citing evidence that advertising significantly influences children's food choices.
However, health advocates and experts have expressed strong concerns that significant loopholes threaten to undermine the policy's effectiveness. The primary issue is that the regulations do not ban brand-only advertising, allowing companies with unhealthy product lines to promote their overall brand identity to young audiences, even without showing specific HFSS foods. Furthermore, critics point to key regulatory gaps, noting that the ban currently does not cover outdoor advertising (billboards, posters, transit ads) and does not extend to individual company social media channels and direct digital marketing, which are areas of high and unregulated exposure for children. Experts warn that advertisers can simply shift their spending to these less-regulated spaces, a risk compounded by the fact that the path to implementation was marked by repeated delays and industry lobbying.
Advocates are now calling on the government to strengthen the legislation. They urge action to close the loophole on brand advertising, extend restrictions to outdoor media, and tighten regulations on digital marketing tactics targeting children. They emphasise the need for an outcomes-based approach that holds companies genuinely accountable for reducing unhealthy food influence, moving beyond narrow technical compliance.
The ongoing debate highlights the inherent tension between public-health protection and commercial freedom. As the new restrictions take effect, public-health experts stress the necessity of vigilance and continuous evaluation to monitor shifting advertising patterns and ensure the policy fully achieves the ambition of fostering the healthiest possible generation.
