Call for ban on ads for unhealthy foods before 9pm

IRELAND’S new broadcasting authority must move quickly to ban all adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt, up to 9pm to protect children’s health, an Oireachtas committee has been told.

The Irish Heart Foundation and the National Heart Alliance, who yesterday met members of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, said the Broadcasting Bill, currently before the Seanad, provided for a ban on food advertising, but did not specify a time frame.

The foundation’s health promotion manager Maureen Mulvihill said a 6am to 9pm ban would ensure that young people watching programmes outside of children’s viewing hours were protected from sophisticated advertising campaigns that promote unhealthy eating.