Norway proposes ban to protect children from the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages
News story | Date: 22/08/2024 | Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Education and Research
The Norwegian government today sent on public consultation a proposal to ban the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages aimed at children under the age of 18.
'We are committed to protecting the health of children and young people, and that it should be easy to make healthy choices in everyday life. In addition, we want to reduce social health inequalities, and this proposal is a step in the right direction that I am happy to put forward,' says Minister of Health and Care Services Jan Christian Vestre.
'Children and young people today experience strong pressure from actors who want to capitalize on them, especially through social media. I am deeply concerned about the many unhealthy products that are promoted both by commercial players and influencers,' says Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun.
Based on WHO recommendations
The proposal is based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations (who.int), and few countries in the world have introduced anything similar.
'This is groundbreaking work and shows that the government takes public health and the rights of children seriously. It is yet another example that Norway is a world leader in public health work and sets the standard,' Vestre points out.
The Ministry wants input
'We are now taking the responsibility for protecting children and youth from the harmful impacts of unhealthy food and beverage marketing, and I encourage relevant actors to contribute with input to the proposal that is sent out for consultation, so that we get a complete picture of the case,' says Vestre.
'The goal is a clear regulation that clarifies responsibility and provides effective sanctions – all for the good of our children.'
Further details of the proposal
- The proposal involves a ban on the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages aimed at children under the age of 18. It also includes a ban on the placement of such products in the proximity of toys and other products especially appealing to children. In the event of a breach of the regulation, an infringement fee may be imposed. Additionally, the proposal includes a ban on marketing that encourages adults to buy such products for children.
- Today, the industry has a self-regulatory scheme that bans such marketing, but this only applies to children up to 13 years of age and evaluations have shown weaknesses, especially concerning the lack of sanctions.
- In line with the government’s ambitions in the 2023 white paper on public health (in Norwegian), a request from the Storting and recommendations from the WHO, the government now takes the full responsibility for enforcing the ban.
- The proposed regulation is largely based on the existing guidelines for the self-regulatory scheme, but with some important differences. The regulation will protect all children up to the age of 18 years and violations of the ban will be subject to sanctions in the form of an infringement fee.
- Also, both the ban on placement of unhealthy foods and beverages near other products that are appealing to children and the ban that encourages adults to buy such products for children, are new.
- The following is exempt from the proposed marketing ban: sponsorship that only includes a company name/logo, packaging, ordinary placement and information at points of sale, and the design of the product itself.
- The products covered by the proposed regulation are foods and beverages that are recommended to limit intake of or that should not constitute a large part of the diet. Typical unhealthy products such as candy, soft drinks, chocolate, snacks, ice cream, cakes etc. cannot be marketed to children. For other products, e.g. milk, cereals, yoghurt, and fast food, nutrient thresholds are used to include the unhealthiest products within these categories. For example, yoghurt and cereals with a high content of sugar are covered by the proposed regulation.
- The proposal does not ban the sales of any products - only how these products are advertised to children.
- Consultation paper (in Norwegian)