Mexico Plays the Heavy on Food Ads

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Mexican authorities are restricting food marketing to children on television and in movie theaters, part of an attack plan against rising health problems as Mexicans get fatter. The new limits, which became effective in mid-July, go far beyond any measures taken in the US to restrict food advertising.

With a third of children in Mexico overweight, and the country's entire population struggling with a high rate of Type 2 diabetes, the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto pitched the restrictions as a tough follow-on to the adoption of special taxes on sugary beverages and calorie-dense snacks. Peddlers of chocolate, candies, chips and soda can no longer promote their products on afternoon and weekend television time slots in Mexico for programs in which the vast majority of viewers are under the age of 12, or on the screen before children's movies in cinemas. Starting in January 2015, sugary cereals, yogurts, cookies and cakes also will be blocked from those air times. Companies that break the ban could face fines of around $75,000 per spot that airs. Mexico joins a handful of countries, including Norway, that have placed limits on broadcast ads for children.


Mexico Plays the Heavy on Food Ads