Sommel from Vestre – Ytring

The ban on marketing aimed at children should have entered into force on 1 January. Everyone knows that this is affecting health, so Minister of Health Vestre, why is nothing happening? Influencers peppering children and young people with advertisements for energy drinks, sweets and soft drinks should have been history. One year ago, the Storting passed the ban. It was supposed to apply from 2024, but in December the message came from the Ministry of Health and Care that the work has been delayed. We wait in suspense, while children and young people are still exposed to massive and deliberate marketing pressure, especially on the internet and in social media. An industry left to itself For ten years, the Food Industry’s professional committee (MFU) has been responsible for regulating its own advertising for unhealthy food and drink aimed at children. This has obviously not worked. In the Consumer Council, we believe that there are at least four obvious reasons for this. Firstly, the selection is largely based on handling complaints from consumers themselves. This assumes that people know they exist. However, most parents (who else does the industry primarily think should complain about the marketing?) have never even heard of MFU. If a concerned parent goes to the step of submitting a complaint which they are then successful in, it will be published in a press release and on MFU’s own channels, but there will be no fines or other real consequences for the company behind the advertisement. Thirdly, the criteria the committee uses as a basis for its complaint processing are, to put it mildly, debatable. The criteria are that the advertising must be aimed particularly at children and young people for it to be accepted, and as if that were not enough, they consider you an adult when you turn 13. We believe that it should go a long way that marketing also targets children and young people, and that you should be protected at least up to the age of 18. In addition, it is probably the case that a lot hits children and young people, without them being a pronounced target group. And then the last, and perhaps most obvious problem: It is a paradox that it is those who make money from marketing aimed at children and young people, who must decide the rules for which advertising is acceptable and which is not. Children and young people’s health is most important Although children and young people in Norway today should have good conditions for a healthy diet, they, like us adults, have too high an intake of both sugar and saturated fat. Every fourth 13-19-year-old in Norway suffers from overweight or obesity. We also know that this is the fastest growing public health problem in the Western world. This public health problem is too big for the food industry to regulate itself. Research shows that there is a clear connection between children’s calorie intake and the amount of advertising for unhealthy food and drink they are exposed to. The Ministry of Health’s appointed expert committee completely agrees with this. They have concluded that one of the most effective measures for a better diet, and for equalizing social differences, is precisely a ban on the marketing of unhealthy food and drink aimed at children and young people. Offenses must sting The politicians are therefore completely aware of the problem. Evaluations and reports from SIFO, FHI and the Ministry of Health and Care’s expert committee show that the current system of self-regulation in the industry is not enough. Seven out of ten Norwegians also fully or partially agree that marketing unhealthy food and drink to children and young people should be prohibited. The Consumer Council’s clear opinion is that we need an authority that ensures that it is no longer worthwhile to spam our children with temptations that are bad for their health. It is equally important that this authority must have a mandate to crack down on infringements. In other words, when the law banning this type of marketing against children and young people is hopefully soon in place, it must sting to break it. The only ones who seem to object are the industry itself. The desire to avoid legal regulation is still great, and thus the willingness to further develop one’s own system is also greater. Therefore, there is great excitement about what the upcoming regulatory proposal from the Minister of Health will look like. The most precarious question as of now is nevertheless: When will this ban actually come into place, Vestre? Published 24.06.2024, at 11.15



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