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Obesity concerns prompt new guidelines for advertising to children

SINGAPORE — Guidelines restricting advertising of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt to children will take effect from January next year, amid concerns over a worrying trend of obesity here.

SINGAPORE — Guidelines restricting advertising of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt to children will take effect from January next year, amid concerns over a worrying trend of obesity here.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim announced this at the Committee of Supply debate yesterday and told Parliament that the guidelines will be incorporated into the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore’s (ASAS) Singapore Code of Advertising Practice.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) added that nutrient criteria that will act as a framework to determine which food and beverage products can be advertised to children will be ready by September.

A four-month grace period will be given for the industry to adapt to the requirements. To ensure compliance, an independent third-party auditor will be appointed.

Statistics from the 2010 National Health Survey showed that about 10.8 per cent of Singaporean adults were considered obese, up from 4 per cent in 2004.

Obesity increases the risks of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Prevention of childhood obesity is important as overweight and obese children will probably stay obese into adulthood, the MOH said.

Besides obesity, tobacco use among Singaporeans remains an ongoing concern, Associate Professor Faishal said. Thus, the ministry will table amendments to the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act by the end of next year.

Tobacco retailers will be given 12 months after the new legislation is gazetted to comply with the requirements, which include storing tobacco products to keep them out of the direct line of sight of patrons within the stores, the MOH said.

“When combined with other tobacco control efforts, the (point-of-sale) display ban will protect youth from tobacco marketing,” Assoc Prof Faishal told Parliament.

While tobacco retailers — especially smaller ones — have expressed reservations about adapting current tobacco displays as it will incur costs, Assoc Prof Faishal said the MOH will work with them to address their concerns. Ng Jing Yng

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