Brits WANT controversial soft drink levy widened, poll reveals

Eight in 10 adults support a ban on unhealthy food advertising to children on TV and online, new research for the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) suggests.

The coalition of charities and health organizations says the polls show public support for its demands for new taxes on junk food and tighter advertising restrictions.

In December, the government announced it was delaying a ban on junk food advertising until 9pm, to the dismay of health and obesity campaigners.

The new survey of more than 2,000 people found that 79 percent support a TV ban on unhealthy foods for children, while 81 percent said the same about online.

The poll also found that 68 percent would support food companies being taxed for unhealthy foods if the money was spent on children’s health programs.

Similarly, 79 percent think the government should do more to ensure healthy food is affordable during the cost-of-living crisis, while 77 percent think the money raised from the current sugar tax on soft drinks should be used directly for funding programs aimed at improving children’s health.

The alliance includes the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Association of Directors of Public Health, Diabetes UK, Cancer Research UK, the British Medical Association and the Faculty of Public Health.

It said it is ‘deeply concerned’ that unless bold action is taken, health inequalities in the UK will continue to grow and obesity will put further strain on the NHS.

It plans to hand manifesto letters to Conservative, Labor and Liberal Democrat MPs before the next general election, saying there is a ‘huge opportunity’ to protect children’s health.

More poll results showed that 60 percent of adults believe advertising unhealthy food affects how much people buy, while 58 percent would support their municipality with planning laws to reduce the number of unhealthy food stores in their area.

Meanwhile, 64 percent would like their municipality to be able to restrict the advertising of unhealthy food and drink in outdoor areas and 76 percent would support their municipality’s ability to advertise unhealthy food and drink near places where children congregate, such as schools and playgrounds. , to limit.

Katharine Jenner, director of the OHA, said: “Today we wrote to the potential next Prime Minister of the country with a simple request to put children’s health first, tackle Britain’s obesity crisis and break a broken redesign a food system that puts profit before health.

“Fortunately, there are already policies like the Soft Drinks Industry Levy that are proven to be effective, so all that is needed now is to build on this success.

“As individuals we deserve more control over the food and drink available to us and marketed and the next government should take charge of children’s health.”

Professor David Strain, chair of the scientific council of the British Medical Association, said: ‘As medical professionals we can see firsthand the devastating effect obesity has on both the children and the adult population in the UK.

“The serious risk of diseases associated with obesity, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes, highlights how life-threatening it can be.

“Every future prime minister and government should understand the importance of implementing laws and restrictions on the junk food industry that effectively limit the population’s exposure to the advertising and marketing behind many unhealthy food choices that affect their health.”

Ben Reynolds, from food and agriculture organization Sustain, said: ‘It should be easy for anyone to eat healthy, especially for children, but it isn’t.

Our country is flooded with cheap, unhealthy, heavily processed food.

“If it really was as simple as ‘eat less and move more’, we wouldn’t have a health crisis.

“The public is crystal clear in their appetite for government intervention to redesign the food system to put health first.”