should advertisement of junk food be banned

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Recommended: Literature review of effects of junk food in 2018

This report aims to outline the issue of banning advertisement of junk food in Australia by providing background information to the debate and explaining its social significance. Additionally, the report will identify the participants involved, and include the viewpoints of different participants relating to the debate.

2. The Issue and Background to the Debate
A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) summarized that heavy marketing of junk food as well as fast food has caused childhood obesity. National Preventative Health Taskforce attempted to restrict advertising and labeling of junk food. This was done by releasing the national Health Strategy Roadmap for action in June 2009 (Glasson 2010). However, even after the introduction of the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s (AFGC) self-regulatory initiative, the amount of junk food advertisement seen by the children on television remain unchanged after the blueprint was implemented (Donahoo, Stone, Maxwell, Hosking 2013)

3. The Social Significance of the Issue
Recently, Australia has come out top 4 in the OECD’s ranking of advanced nations with the largest-scale of obese citizens (28.3%), trailing after US, Mexico and New Zealand (Beck 2014). Experts believe that child-directed advertising is fuelling the obesity epidemic, with a quarter of all Australian children being either overweight or obese, and most of them will remain so as adults (Glasson 2010). Without intervention, this problem will continue to grow along with¬ the health budget. (Doggett 2012). As such, marketers stand to benefit but the nation’s health may be jeopardised.
4. The Participants
Obesity Policy Coalition, which includes Cancer Council NSW, ...

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... and “superficially conveys the impression that the government is doing something”, given that eating habits is one’s own responsibility (Christopher 2012). The Federal Government agreed “further regulation were unnecessary” as junk food advertising is a legal way to publicise the company’s product as long as it follows the FCC guidelines (The Australian 2011).
6. Conclusion
The debate of whether Australia should ban junk food advertisement has given rise to several opinions. Given the increasing pressure from public health advocates, efforts to implement increase regulatory tactics is unavoidable. Hence, by weighing the viewpoints of those for and against the issue, the government should determine whether junk food advertisement ban will provide a better environment for the children, or should the people have a freedom of choice and be responsible for themselves.

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