Media Releases

“Marketing is just washing over this country like a tidal wave, and we’re trying to give people swimming lessons.”

—Kelly D. Brownell, UConn Rudd Center

Coalition praises new bill to stop food and beverage marketing to kids

Bill C-252 undergoing second reading debate

Ottawa, ON – May 6, 2022 – The Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition commends Patricia Lattanzio, Member of Parliament for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, as she moves Bill C-252 to second reading today in the House of Commons. Private Member’s Bill C-252 aims to prohibit the marketing of food and beverages high in sugar, saturated fats or sodium to children under 13 years of age. Read more…

Sugary Drinks : Over-consumed, unnecessary and harmful

June 7, 2021 – Coalition Poids, The Childhood Obesity Foundation and Heart & Stroke call on all levels of government to follow the lead of Newfoundland and Labrador and introduce a sugary drinks levy that can be reinvested in prevention as a promising strategy to bring greater health and economic benefits. Read more…

Pediatricians urge Senate to pass children’s health bill: Bill S-228 will die if not passed by end of session

June 17, 2019 – The Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition is calling attention to a communication to Senators in The Hill Times urging the Senate to pass Bill S-228 before the end of the current parliamentary session. Known as the Child Health Protection Act, the bill would restrict the marketing of foods and beverages high in sugar, salt and saturated fat to children 12 and under. The communication, an urgent plea to senators, was placed by the Canadian Paediatric Society (which is an endorsing organization of the Coalition) and the Pediatric Chairs of Canada. Read more…

Canadians served opportunity to have their say about healthy eating

July 30, 2017 -Heart & Stroke welcomes the recent announcement by Health Canada to launch two public consultations as part of its Healthy Eating Strategy. These consultations will allow Canadians to have input around two public policy areas that can significantly support them to be able to make healthy food choices for themselves and their families. Read more… 

16 and Under Campaign

May 23, 2017 – To rally support for federal legislation intended to restrict food and beverage marketing to all children in Canada, Heart & Stroke’s next step in its fight against marketing to kids uses a new (and entirely fictional) advertising agency called “16 and Under” that exclusively creates ads targeting kids. Read more…

The food and beverage industry is marketing our children and youth to death

February 1, 2017  –  New research reveals advertising restrictions urgently needed to protect kids and support parents. Read more…

Celebrity Chef and Health Experts Stir Up Excitement Around Childhood Obesity

October 7, 2016  –  Jamie Oliver and Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition identify areas for immediate action. Read more…

Health coalition gives proposed legislation to protect children a gold star

September 28, 2016  – The Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition applauds Senator Nancy Greene Raine for introducing legislation prohibiting food and beverage marketing to children. Read more…

Heart and Stroke Foundation applauds Senate committee recommendations

March 1, 2016  – The Heart and Stroke Foundation praises the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology for its comprehensive report on obesity and important nutrition policy recommendations that will have a real impact on the health of Canadians. Read more…

Health organizations tell food industry: pick on someone your own age

February 24, 2016 – Co-led by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Childhood Obesity Foundation, the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition says the time has come to protect children and to support parents to make healthy decisions for their families. Read more…

85% of Canadian parents want government to place limits on advertising unhealthy foods and beverages to children

May 9, 2013  – Approximately 20 health organizations have joined together in light of Canada Health Day 2013 to support of a policy statement calling for a restriction on marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children. Read more…

Other Stop M2K News

June 2017 – Eat This! How Fast Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (and how to fight back)

June 21, 2017
Tune in to listen to an exclusive interview with Author, Andrea Curtis. Andrea’s latest book

Eat This! How Fast Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (and how to fight back) will be published by Red Deer Press this year. Eat This! is a guide to recognizing the marketing tricks companies use to sell foods and beverages to children. Learn about the increasingly complex and subliminal tactics used to market to kids. Find out what others are doing to combat them, and what you can do to help. Andrea Curtis is an award-winning writer for adults and children. She has a longtime interest in food politics. Joining Andrea, is Malcolm Clark, coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, a project of charity Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, and Helena O’Donnell Project Manager of the Irish Heart Foundation’s advocacy campaign Stop Targeting Kids.

To view or download a PDF copy of the slides, click the links below:

Eat This! Andrea Curtis

Junk-food ban in Canadian schools is working, study finds

The Canada Press // Toronto Star – Michael McDonald
New research has found that students exposed to a school junk-food ban have a lower BMI on average than those who are not. Read more… 

Banning of junk food sales in Canadian schools having a positive effect: study

CBC News

“It’s a small step in the right direction,” said Philip Leonard, a health economist at the University of New Brunswick.
“Combined with other policies of this type, you can hope to see real difference over time.”

Leonard looked at the body mass index (BMI) of 153,000 Canadians, aged 12 to 25, during an eight-year period. Within that sample, compiled from the annual Canadian Community Health Survey, more than 22,000 youths had been banned from buying junk food at school for at least one year.

As a result, the students banned from making junk food purchases at school for five or more years were, on average, about two pounds lighter than students who did not face a ban.

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