Spain and US take measures against marketing of sweets and soft drinks to children

04 November 2021

The days of advertising sweets, junk food and sugary drinks to children are counted in Spain, and in the United States, too, it could soon have a fierce opponent: countermarketing. In both countries, the decision has been taken to get tough after years of more tolerant policies, which have relied heavily on the goodwill of companies, and the lack of results.

In Spain, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzòn, has announced that from next year there will be a ban on all forms of advertising for various types of products aimed explicitly at children: sweets with chocolate or sugar, energy bars, desserts, baked goods, as well as sugary drinks, energy drinks, juices, ice cream and biscuits. Advertising will be completely banned on children’s television channels, very limited on general channels and on the radio, and then banned at times considered preferential for the under-16s. The same will happen online, in social media and on websites, where all advertising aimed at children under 16 will be banned.

Read the full story (in Italian) here.