Stop commercial promotions and selling to junk food leftovers in UK supermarkets. This is the latest decision taken by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to counter the obesity and overweight epidemic that plagues 63 percent of the British population and is exacerbating, among other things, the impact of Covid-19. (1)
Restrictions on junk food marketing in the UK are in the context of structured nutrition policies, as noted above, although ineffective to date. Precisely why, in November 2020, the London government launched a consultation on banning online and social media advertising of HFSS(High in Fats, Sugar and Sodium) foods, or junk food.
Junk food, marketing restrictions in UK
The government is now turning to supermarkets to thwart the sales techniques most commonly used to boost junk food sales. Introducing the prohibitions of:
– Place junk food at strategic locations in large stores. Forecourts, entrances, corridor corners,
– commercial promotions of HFSS products (e.g. ‘2-for-1’, ‘special offer’, ‘+30% in the box’).
Similar measures are being planned forecommerce, with a ban on placing purchase links to junk food at strategic points on websites (e.g. , homepage, checkout).
Implementation
The measures, effective from April 2022, will apply only to large establishments, with sales areas exceeding about 600 square meters (2,000 feet) and more than 50 employees. Specialty stores, such as bakeries and delicatessens, remain excluded from the bans.
Kiosks and shops-from neighborhood grocery stores to 7-Elevens-will thus become the new promotional battlegrounds over junk food. Subject to assumptions of government reconsideration, following consultation with relevant social partners.
Boris, the conversion of a liberalist
The state campaign against obesity is in apparent contrast to Boris Johnson’s liberalist policies. Who claims to have been ‘converted’ following his own admission to intensive care due to Covid-19 in April 2020. Having verified firsthand the risks of complications associated with marked overweight.
‘I’m not normally a believer in nannying, or bossing type of politics. But the reality is that obesity is one of the real co-morbidity factors. Losing weight is, frankly, one of the ways that you can reduce your own risks from Covid’ (Boris Johnson).
In fact, obesity is among the main risk factors for complications of the virus, as reiterated by studies by the UK Department of Health.
Notes
1) V. Peter Walker, Unhealthy snacks to be banned from checkouts at supermarkets in England, The Guardian, 28.12.2020
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
