Only in
Quebec is food advertising directed at children supposedly precluded. However
the effectiveness of this intervention is limited by the volume of
non-provincial markets that cloud the Quebec airways. More central to the discussion is why have we
not seen national or other provincial leadership on this issue. As usual Quebec remains a decade ahead of the
rest of the country in many of its public health initiatives and should be appropriately
commended.
Several
groups have called upon federal regulators to limit targeted marketing to
children including Canadian
Pediatric Society and Hypertension Advisory Committee. Others have alluded to the need to address
marketing without attempting yet to take a stance and something we should be carrying to respective organizations to engender a firmer policy.
A recently
posted primer on Marketing to Children and Youth by the Nova Scotia Department
of Health is a must read. It clearly
identifies the pitfalls that marketing to youth can lead to including
·
Marketing
can normalize unhealthy behaviour and encourage unhealthy consumption of
unhealthy products.
·
Marketing
tactics can negatively impact mental and emotional health and well-being.
·
Marketing
can limit our freedom of choice.
The well
written review holds no punches when it comes to displaying a disdain for
current marketing techniques used by many businesses to influence youth
decisions. Certainly not your typical
government sanitized publication.
The
commentary takes specific aim at:
·
Alcohol
·
Processed
Food
·
Sweetened
Beverages
·
Energy
Drinks
·
Hypersexuality
·
Tobacco
In an
uncommonly but refreshing fashion, the
document provides a solid list of to-dos for public health professionals and lays
out a specific provincial plan for Nova Scotia that would be applicable
everywhere except in Quebec.
The must
read can be found at Marketing
to Children and Youth a Public Health Primer
Thanks for posting on this topic, Dr. P! A very hard thing to battle.
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