Heavy regulation needed on HFSS marketing and advertising

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Heavy regulation needed on HFSS marketing and advertising

Speaking at yesterday’s (21 March 2024) evidence gathering session at the House of Lords, Emma Boyland, chair of food marketing and child health at the University of Liverpool; Christina Vogel, professor in food policy, City University; and Sir John Hegarty, co-founder of Bartle Bogle Hegarty were grilled on the influence food businesses had over the roles of marketing and advertising and the influence of industry on dietary trends and food policy.

When asked about how the industry influences the nation’s diet, John Hegarty made it clear the major function of any business is to make a product for as little as it possibly can and sell it for as much as it possibly can.

With this distinction in mind, he claimed that businesses will do whatever they can to turn over a profit if there isn’t some form of regulation to prevent them for going too far.

“People in advertising can’t do much about it,”​ Hegarty explained. “Their function is to answer a client’s needs – here is a product, please promote this in a way which is most effective.

Up to the government

“[Advertisers] rely upon regulations that govern what we can and cannot say. So, it’s up to government to put in systems and processes to make sure that what we can sell – what we should be selling – is good for the for people at large.”

He claimed that voluntary systems were a waste of time, but an official system needs to be airtight so as to prevent businesses exploiting loopholes like those found by cigarette companies in the mid-70s.

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