Transcript Kids and Commercials - Center for Science in the Public

Kids and Commercials
Bill Jeffery, National Coordinator
Centre for Science in the Public Interest
at
Healthy People for a Healthy
Tomorrow
sponsored by
Sudbury and District Health Unit
June 9-10, 2004
The Centre for Science
in the Public Interest
 Independent health advocacy organization focussing on nutrition policy
issues
 Offices in Ottawa and Washington, and staff in Toronto and Vancouver
 Funded in Canada by over 100,000 subscribers to the Canadian edition of
the Nutrition Action Healthletter
 CSPI does not accept funding from industry or government
 Coordinator of the Alliance for Food Label Reform (groups representing 2
million Canadian citizens and health professionals)
 Founding member of the International Association of Consumer Food
Organizations
Canadian annual costs of diet-, and
inactivity-related disease
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Estimated 20,000 to 47,000 premature deaths
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$2.5 billion and $4.6 billion in health care spending per year (Katzmarzyk PT, et al. The
Economic Burden of Physical Inactivity in Canada. Canadian Medical Association Journal
2000;163(11): 1435-40 at 1438; and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Costs and Benefits of
Nutrition Information, (Ottawa: AAFC, May 2000) at 4.)
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A total of $6.3 billion to $10.9 billion per year from the Canadian economy as a whole
(health care costs plus lost productivity) (See: "Health Canada announces new mandatory
nutrition labelling" [news release] (Ottawa: January 2, 2003), and Katzmarzyk PT, supra).
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An average of 6.5 years of healthy life expectancy is lost due to four diet-related risk
factors (blood cholesterol, blood pressure, overweight, and low fruit and vegetable
intake), as well as physical inactivity and smoking. (World Health Organization, The World
Health Report 2002 -- Preventing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life, (Press release issued at Geneva:
October 3, 2002).
Public Policies and Commercial Practices
Affecting Children’s Health
 Marketing and advertising controls (esp. outside Quebec)
 Medicare (focussed primarily on disease treatment)
 Nutrition-related disclosure on labels and menus (n.b., Bill C-398, and new label
rules)
 Food taxation, pricing policies (e.g., supersizing “deals”), and subsidies
 Marketing of breast milk substitutes (n.b., the WHA International Code)
 Compositional standards for food (e.g., fat content of meat, partially hydrogenated
vegetable oil in processed foods; sugar in tax-free breakfast cereals)
 Nutrition policies re school food services (esp., cafeterias, vending machines, and
fund-raising products)* -- Ontario government consultation pending
 Municipal Planning (e.g., that promote active play and transit; or that facilitate redlining of low income neighbourhoods by grocery store chains)*
 Tobacco controls (advertising, labelling, smoke-free buildings, etc.)*
 School curriculum (e.g., physical education, nutrition and cooking classes)*
 Public education/promotion of healthful diet and physical activity (n.b.,
ParticpAction)*
The de facto nutrition education in Canada
for children and adults
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Over $720 million was spent to advertise restaurants, food and alcohol in 1998.
(McElgunn J. Canada's top 25 advertising categories. Marketing Magazine September 27,
1999:44.)
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The average Canadian children sees 350,000 TV commercials before graduating from
high school, spends nearly as much time watching TV as attending classes.
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What’s on the menu?: nutritional weaklings like soft drinks, sugary cereals, candy,
french fries, fast food, condiments, and activity-limiting products such as video
games, movies, and television shows.
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In a 1991 survey of programming, less than 9% of food ads were for dairy, fruits and
vegetables (excluding french fries) (Østbye T, Pomerleau J, et al. Food and Nutrition in
Canadian ‘Prime Time’ Television Commercials. Canadian Journal of Public Health 84(6) 370-74.)
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Supreme Court of Canada: “...advertising directed at young children is per se
manipulative. Such advertising aims to promote products by convincing those who
will always believe.” (Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Irwin Toy v. Québéc (Attorney
General), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 927 at 988.)
Commercial Techniques for
Persuading Kids to Consume
(including pester power)
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Using ideal kids (a little older, a little thinner)
Heart strings (for parents)
Incredible toys
Celebrity endorsements
Commercializing schools (vending machines, etc., etc., etc.)
Logos on clothes
Product placements
School contests
Buzz or street marketing
The Internet, kids clubs, etc. (unsupervised)
Package placement in grocery stores
Food advertising works.
 Review of Research on the Effects of Food Promotion to
Children: Final Report:
 A global literature review of social scientists by scholars commissioned
by the UK Food Standards Agency published September 2003
 The report concluded:
there is a lot of food advertising to kids
affects preferences, purchasing behaviour and consumption
advertised diet is less healthy than recommended
 Report of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet,
Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases (Technical
Report 916) concluded: heavy marketing of energy dense
and fast food is a probable contributor to obesity
What can be done?
 Amending self-administered, industry association voluntary codes is
misspent time?
 Amend provincial consumer protection statutes (like Quebec’s Consumer
Protection Act, R.S.Q., c. P-40.1, ss. 248, 249 and the Regulations Respecting the
Application of the Consumer Protection Act ss. 87-90.)
 Amend the Federal Competition Act
Proposal to amend the Competition Act
Add section 74.11 to the Competition Act to state that:
A person engages in “reviewable conduct” who directs any commercial advertising
or promotion at persons under the age of 13.
To determine whether an ad is aimed at kids, look at:
 the nature of the goods or services advertised; and
 the manner and time of presenting the ad.
Advertising to Children (esp.,
Nutrient-Poor Foods and Inactive Play)
 Senator Spivak’s speech May 11, 2004
(http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/3/parlbus/chambus/senate/deb-e/pdf/040db_2004-05-11-E.pdf )
 1978 ban in Quebec (Consumer Protection Act, R.S.Q., c. P-40.1, ss. 248, 249 and the Regulations
Respecting the Application of the Consumer Protection Act ss. 87-90.)
 Supreme Court of Canada ruling
(Irwin Toy v. Québéc (A.G.), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 927 )
 Similar bans in Norway and Sweden; partial restrictions in 32
countries (see: World Health Organization, Marketing Food to Children, (Geneva: WHO, 2004) at 14-16.)
Who supports restrictions on
advertising to children?
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Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health
Canadian Teachers' Federation
L'Association des Diététistes au Québec
National Federation for Seniors and Pensioners
Community Nutritionists Council of British Columbia
Union des consommateurs
Canadian Women's Health Network
Eastern Health & Comm. Services Bd. (Clarenville, Nfld.)
Centre for Health Promotion Studies (Univ. of Alberta)
Sport PEI
Canadian Dental Hygienists Association
Canadian Assn. for the Advancement of Women and Sport
and Physical Activity
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Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op
Toronto Food Policy Council
HEAL Network of Northern British Columbia
National Retired Workers Advisory Council
Nutrition Services (Whitehorse Regional Hospital)
Edmonton School Lunch Program
Edmonton City Centre Church Corporation
Palliser Health Region (Alberta)
DisAbled Women's Network of Ontario (DAWN)
Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association
Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology
Centre for Science in the Public Interest
Raffi Cavoukian (children’s entertainer)
Who opposes banning ads to children?:
“Concerned Children’s Advertisers”
Commercial Toy & Media Companies
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Buena Vista Entertainment Canada
Corus Entertainment Inc.
CTV Television Inc.
Global Television Network
Hasbro Canada Corporation
Institute of Communications and Advertising
LEGO Canada Inc.
Mattel Canada Inc.
Mega Bloks Inc.
TELETOON Canada Inc.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Zenith Optimedia Canada
Commercial Food Companies
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Cadbury Adams Canada Inc.
Campbell Company of Canada
Coca-Cola Ltd.
Frito Lay Canada
General Mills Canada Corporation
Kellogg Canada Inc.
Kraft Canada Inc.
McCain Foods (Canada)
McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd.
Nestlé Canada Inc.
Pepsi QTG Canada Inc.
Unilever Canada
Weston Bakeries Limited
CCA report:
Obesity in Canadian Children, 2003
 Uncritical cataloguing of dozens of remedial public policies
 Dismissive of shortcomings of PA interventions
 Critical of restrictions on advertising
Is there any hope for a prevention dividend?
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Auditor General said that "preventative health activities are estimated to be 6 to 45 times more
effective than dealing with health problems after the fact.” (Auditor General of Canada, Health Canada:
A Proactive Approach to Health, chapter 9 in Report of the Auditor General of Canada -- 2001, (Ottawa: Auditor
General, 2001) at 3.)
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New mandatory nutrition labels (finalized January 2003) are expected to yield $5 billion in savings
or a 2,000% R.O.I. over two decades due to decreased heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes
(The Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 137, No. 1 (January 1, 2003) at 386.
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In the past 8 years, tobacco usage rates have declined from approximately 30% to 21% (Physicians
for a Smoke-Free Canada, Smoking in Canada: Percentage of Canadians who smoke (on either a daily or
occasional basis), federal surveys, 1965-2002 (Ottawa: PSFC, 2003.)
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Maybe: Quebec has the lowest obesity rates in Canada despite having lower rates of physical
activity than 10 provinces and territories (Canadian Journal of Cardiology October 2003, 19(11)
1251.)
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Maybe: Quebec residents consume more fruits and vegetables than residents of any other province
or territory (Statistics Canada, Dietary practices by sex, household population aged 12 and over, Canada,
provinces, territories, health regions and peer groups, 2000/01, Health Indicators, May 2002, Cat. No. 82-221-
XIE.)
Is there any hope for a
prevention dividend? (cont’d)
Health promotion advertising can work:
 CSPI and West Virginia University 1% or less campaign (TV
and radio ads plus news conferences)
 Telephone Surveys: 34% of people switched
 Supermarket sales receipts data: low-fat milk purchases
rose from 29% to 46% (Reger B, Wootan MG, Booth-Butterfield
S. “Using Mass Media to Promote Healthy Eating: A Community
Demonstration Project.” Preventative Medicine 1999, vol. 29, pp.
414-421.)
Is there political will to act?
 Is there a political will to oppose (especially with Quebec precedent,
broad NGO support, and a nod from the Supreme Court of Canada)?
 Senator Spivak appears committed to proceed with proposed legislation.
 Appears consistent with:
  nascent “Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy”
 Government of Canada’s commitment to the WHO global strategy to combat diet- and
inactivity related disease
 Editorial in Marketing (magazine), March 3, 2003 at 18.
Contact info:
Bill Jeffery, L.LB., National Coordinator
Centre for Science in the Public Interest
Suite 4550, CTTC Bldg.
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5R1
[email protected]
Tel.: 613-244-7337
Fax: 613-244-1559
Website: http://www.cspinet.org/canada/