End Junk Food Adverts during under 16’s cinema screenings – Noone

CINEMAS should stop advertising junk food during screenings for under 16s, Dublin Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone has said.

Senator Noone, the Fine Gael candidate for Dublin Bay North at the next General Election, said: “As we continue to fight against childhood obesity, it is counterproductive to allow advertising of unhealthy foods, specifically aimed at children and teenagers.

“There is no doubt about the relationship between advertising high fat, sugar and salt products and consumption. Children going to see a film in cinemas with their parents are then subjected to adverts designed for children, promoting sweets and fast-food, while adverts promoting healthy alternatives do not appear.

“Junk food producers now have the ability to target Irish children in the cinemas, in their living rooms on TV and in their bedrooms through the internet. Until we address this issue we cannot turn the tide on childhood obesity, which every day creates more lifelong problems for young people,” she said.

Senator Noone added, “At some point in the future, as a society we will come to view this type of high fat, sugar and salt advertising to that of cigarette companies. The health effects can be just as costly, with long term adverse health effects.”