Mitigating the harms of politics and industry
The UK population’s health is getting worse. Health inequalities are widening and obesity rates rising, particularly among children in deprived areas (doi:10.1136/bmj.q2819 doi:10.1136/bmj.r525 doi:10.1136/bmj.q2457 doi:10.1136/bmj.r593).1234 A new investigation by The BMJ explores the influence of industry on some of these trends (doi:10.1136/bmj.r667).5 The investigation finds that the advertising industry is lobbying local authorities to delay or scrap plans to ban junk food advertising on bus stops and billboards, using well rehearsed industry tactics of “deny, delay, and dilute.” With many local authorities facing significant debts, advertising companies are warning councils of the financial impact of restricting junk food advertising, telling them that they risk a substantial drop in advertising revenues. The areas targeted have some of the highest rates of childhood obesity in England. As a result, some councils have already paused or restricted plans to ban advertising of foods
