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New UK government reaffirms advertising restrictions on less healthy products
The new UK Labour government announced in September that it would move forward with the advertising restrictions on less healthy food and beverage products that were initially proposed by the previous Conservative government. The policy limiting advertising of less healthy products, originally referred to as high fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) products, was set out in primary legislation through the Health and Care Act 2022, though regulators have been working on the restrictions for more than five years.
The restrictions were set to come into force on 1 January 2023 but were postponed for a year and then delayed again until 1 October 2025. In its latest communication about the restrictions, the UK government reaffirmed the 1 October 2025 effective date, stating that it will “implement [the restrictions] without further delay.”
Details of the restrictions
The main goal of the advertising ban is to address the childhood obesity crisis in the UK, where more than one third of children are obese or overweight by the time they leave primary school. The measures target HFSS products and a variety of other product categories outlined in the draft regulation.
The Health and Care Act 2022 set the following restrictions for less healthy foods:
- A 9pm TV watershed for advertisements of HFSS food and drink, which would apply to all TV programmes, regardless of programming or typical audience age. This includes all on-demand programme services (ODPS) under UK jurisdiction and regulated by Ofcom.
- No paid-for advertising of unhealthy food and drink products online, including non-UK regulated ODPS.
Small- and medium-sized enterprises are exempt from these restrictions. The ban on advertising online does not apply to advertising that is not directed at those in the UK, business-to-business advertising, and adverts in online media connected to Ofcom-regulated radio services.
Amidst these new rules, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) notes that these new restrictions are separate and additional to the existing rules against HFSS foods set by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP).
The UK government launched another consultation related to the restrictions, this time on how the restrictions will apply to internet protocol television (IPTV) services, which deliver TV live over the internet. According to the government, IPTV services have grown in prevalence since the primary legislation was first passed in 2022 and can have aspects of both ‘broadcast’ and ‘online’ in their nature, resulting in a lack of clarity at present about which regime covers them.
Looking forward
While the 1 October 2025 effective date is now firmly set, businesses will receive more clarity from the UK government over the next year about how the restrictions will be implemented.
In addition to food and beverage manufacturers, advertisers, ODPS providers, TV broadcasters, and other impacted media owners will all be responsible for ensuring that in-scope advertisements for HFSS products comply with the new rules. Third parties like food and delivery services will also be subject to the restrictions.
All impacted businesses should begin preparing for the new restrictions now and determine how their marketing strategies need to shift. They should also closely follow any subsequent communications from the UK government, including its response to the IPTV consultation and the forthcoming secondary legislation.
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