The advertising industry objects, but the state’s health minister says it’s a ‘sensible step’ for combating obesity, especially among childrenFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFrom banning social media to fast food advertising: South Australia will become the first state to prohibit ads for unhealthy food from appearing on public buses, trams and trains.Under the recently announced ban, in effect from 1 July 2025, promotions for products including chocolate, lollies, confectionery, desserts, ice-cream, soft drinks and chips will not be permitted on Adelaide’s public transport system.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…The advertising industry objects, but the state’s health minister says it’s a ‘sensible step’ for combating obesity, especially among childrenFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFrom banning social media to fast food advertising: South Australia will become the first state to prohibit ads for unhealthy food from appearing on public buses, trams and trains.Under the recently announced ban, in effect from 1 July 2025, promotions for products including chocolate, lollies, confectionery, desserts, ice-cream, soft drinks and chips will not be permitted on Adelaide’s public transport system.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…
From banning social media to fast food advertising: South Australia will become the first state to prohibit ads for unhealthy food from appearing on public buses, trams and trains.
Under the recently announced ban, in effect from 1 July 2025, promotions for products including chocolate, lollies, confectionery, desserts, ice-cream, soft drinks and chips will not be permitted on Adelaide’s public transport system.
“Each year, big brands spend millions of dollars on catchy slogans and appealing ads to encourage South Australian children to consume more highly processed foods containing high fat, high salt and high sugar,” the state’s health minister, Chris Picton, said.
Given the influence of junk food marketing on children’s food preferences and intake, he described the move as a “sensible step towards a healthier South Australia”.
It is a rare one in Australia, where the marketing of unhealthy foods to children is mainly governed by voluntary codes or industry self-regulation.
But advertising industry bodies – the Australian Association of National Advertisers and the Outdoor Media Association – have objected to the ban, which they say doesn’t address the complex causes of obesity.
So what do you need to know?
Why is advertising the target?
Dr Alexandra Jones, who researches food regulation at the George Institute for Global Health, says unhealthy diets have overtaken tobacco as the leading factor contributing to disease and injury in Australia.
“We’ve got two-thirds of adults who are overweight or obese and also one in four children,” she says, noting advertising as one factor that influences what we eat.
Children are targeted daily by ads for unhealthy food and drinks – when travelling to school, playing or watching sports, going online or watching TV.
“Advertising is the wallpaper of our lives,” Jones says. Even preschool aged children can recognise brands, she says, as companies keen to shape their preferences aim to drive pester power, improve profits and create lifelong customers.
The World Health Organization recommends countries implement mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from junk food marketing, on the basis of evidence that advertising negatively affects food choices and diet.
Why focus on public transport?
The majority of food-related ads seen by children on their way to school – on public transport and within 500m of the school grounds – promote unhealthy options like fast food and sugary drinks.
According to Cancer Council research, about 80% of food ads on public transport and near schools in New South Wales and South Australia were for junk food. In Victoria, 9 in ten food ads within 500m of schools promoted unhealthy products, with the highest proportion displayed on tram stops (44%).
In Perth, children who catch the train are exposed to 37 discretionary food ads on their way to school, 22 per trip if they catch the bus, and about four when walking, according to research led by the Telethon Kids Institute.
Jones applauds South Australia’s decision – which follows similar rules implemented in the ACT, across London’s underground and Amsterdam’s metro – as “a sensible and progressive move”.
In Victoria, the Food Fight! campaign by public health organisations, researchers and 13,000 citizens has called for a ban on junk food ads across the public transport system and within 500m of schools.
Jane Martin, from the Food for Health Alliance, said that advertising is persuasive and often unavoidable. “Children, particularly adolescents, spend a lot of time on public transport, and in that space around schools, because they’re often co-located with sporting facilities.”
In London, she said, stopping junk food ads on transport had no effect on advertising revenue, but led to a decline in households purchasing unhealthy products.
While Victoria’s guidelines prevent the promotion of alcohol, gambling and offensive content on public transport, those rules don’t yet extend to unhealthy foods.
A Victorian government spokesperson said guidelines are “continuously reviewed to ensure they reflect community standards”.
“Victorians should be given the information they need to make healthy choices – that’s why we have legislated kilojoule labelling, advocated for added sugar labelling on infant food and continue to support the national Health Star rating.”
What about ads online and TV?
Jones says Australia has been “dragging the chain” on advertising restrictions, as well as other policies such as taxes on sugary drinks.
While states control what happens on public transport, the federal government could move to restrict unhealthy ads on television and online, including streaming, games and social media, places where teenagers (aged 14 to 17) are exposed to about 24 junk food ads a day, according to Deakin University research.
The Australian Medical Association wants tougher rules across the board, including a “digital blackout on junk food adverts”.
The federal government is expected to finalise its approach to restricting unhealthy food advertising in the first half of 2025, after considering feedback on policy options for television and broadcast media, online, and outdoors – including within 750m of schools, and along major transport corridors.
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