HEALTH
Voters have big appetite for laws curbing junk food adverts
Voters overwhelmingly support the imposition of tougher curbs on junk food to tackle obesity, research shows.
Eighty per cent of adults back the idea of new laws to prevent the advertising of unhealthy food to children on television and online, according to a YouGov poll for the Obesity Health Alliance.
In the survey of 2,037 adults, 58 per cent said councils should use planning laws to prevent fast-food shops opening in their area. There was 68 per cent support for expanding the sugar tax on soft drinks to cover crisps, biscuits and milkshakes and most respondents said funds raised through these levies should go towards schemes that directly help children’s health, such as sports clubs.
The sugar tax, introduced in 2018, adds 18p per litre