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

Study finds junk food ads are leading to heavier kids

McMaster University researchers found that advertisements for junk food increased the amount of unhealthy food and beverage choices that children made. Read more…

Niños Sanos: Restricting Marketing to Children in Mexico

On June 29, Canada will welcome American President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto for the Three Amigos Summit. This presents an opportunity to explore public policy enacted by our neighbours.

Faced with the growing rates of chronic diseases, and concerned with an already overburdened public health care system, the Mexican government has passed a number of measures to decrease the amount of junk food Mexicans consume.

In 2014, Mexico restricted the marketing of unhealthy foods to children by banning advertisements of certain unhealthy foods between 2:30pm and 7:30pm on weekdays and 7:00am and 7:30pm on weekends. An estimated 35 per cent of TV audiences during these times are under the age of 13.

Because of this legislation, 40 per cent of ads for sugar-sweetened beverages, candy and chocolate will cease to air. It is estimated that children who watch two hours of television per day will view 10,200 fewer ads for unhealthy foods than before the legislation was enacted.

This legislation also has the potential to impact industry, as companies like Danone seek to lower the sugar content of some of their products in order to be able to continue to advertise them. Companies are also replacing advertisements for less healthy foods with some of their healthier products.

Still, despite the laudable efforts of legislators, some argue the restrictions ought to be stronger: the definition of unhealthy foods should have had lower limits for calories and sugar; many children watch television outside of the restricted times; companies can continue to advertise in public and on the Internet; and there has been no ban on cartoon characters and toy prizes.

While it is still perhaps too early to fully understand the impact of this legislation on child health in Mexico, it seems likely the Canadian government would be better off modeling its own legislation based on the M2K Coalition’s Ottawa Principles. Nonetheless, the M2K Coalition continues to monitor closely Mexico’s policy experiments to tackle the consumption of unhealthy foods, as they have undoubtedly seen some success.

By Sasha McNicoll, Coalition for Healthy School Food Coordinator, Food Secure Canada

Tweet this blog post! 

Study finds music celebrities who are popular among adolescents endorse unhealthy products

American Academy of Pediatrics

Study finds that 81 per cent of 26 endorsed foods endorsed by music celebrities like Justin Timberlake and One Direction, were for unhealthy products. Read more…