Russian lawmakers are promising to draft a bill that would render it almost impossible to promote foodstuffs with high sugar, salt and saturated fat content, saying the move would help to encourage healthy food habits among the population.
MP Vasiliy Shestakov of the majority United Russia party has told
the Kommersant Daily that in the near future he plans to draft
several amendments to federal laws on advertising that would
seriously restrict the advertising of sugar-containing sodas,
sweets, margarine, potato chips, some types of sausages and many
types of fast food.
The amendments would see fast food and alcohol ads as equal
threats, Shestakov said in comments. He added that harmful fast
food was a threat to the apparently healthy “national
foods.”
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food media blitz
The draft would give detailed information on maximum allowed
content of sugar, salt and saturated fat in advertised products.
If the standards aren’t met, the foodstuffs will be banned from
advertising in press, TV and radio programs broadcast between 7pm
and 10pm and in all media targeted at children. The draft also
bans outdoor advertising of potentially harmful foods in most
public places and various BLT events promoting such products.
The Kommersant daily says that once passed the initiative could
seriously damage the advertising industry. According to the
newspaper, revenues from makers of sugary and fatty foods make up
to 8 percent of advertising budgets on federal television. A
representative of Vi, a leading seller of advertising space in
Russia, has told Kommersant that soft drinks and fast food ads
chalk up about 2.5 percent of all television advertising in the
country, an estimated 4.5 – 5 billion rubles in 2015 ($80 – $89
million).
The head of the Russian Association of Ad Placers, Fyodor
Borisov, has said that the members of his group have already
imposed certain restrictions on themselves as a self-regulating
measure and there was no need for any legislative amendments. He
said that in 2009 the organization decided to target soft drink
ads at children of 12 and under.
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Communists’ sanction sights ‘to protect Russian genes’
Russian lawmakers have already proposed restrictions on
potentially hazardous foods. In June, the head of Russia’s Party
of Pensioners urged the government to impose sanctions on the
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies, saying they were major sponsors
of anti-Russian politicians in the US and that the move would
boost domestic producers of soft drinks.
The Communist Party has also sought an additional tax on
sugar-containing drinks quoting concern over national health. The
Russian Temperance Society has asked the government to launch a
major nationwide campaign against fast food and sugar-containing
sodas, similar to the existing anti-alcohol and anti-tobacco
campaigns.