Inventory of Position Statements

Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention
“Given the potential impact of emerging media on youth, there is a need to protect youth up to age 18 through expanding restrictions to include new media marketing techniques, such as internet and text advertising. Provinces must also work together to expand legislation across all Canadian jurisdictions in order to address the possibility of cross-border ‘leakage’ of advertising” (2015: 2).

Click here to read the issue brief

Association of Local Public Health Agencies [alPHa]
“The Health Kids Panel has unequivocally and unanimously recommended a ban of marketing of high-carrie, low nutrient foods, beverages and snacks to children under Ade of 12 as well as mandatory menu labelling. Both of these recommendations were made following the examination of a wealth of evidence that led to assessment among its members that they are necessary components of a successful obesity reduction strategy” (2013: 1).

Click here to read the statement

Centres for Science in the Public Interest (Canada)
“In our view, the better way is to adopt the Quebec approach of enacting legislation to blocking all ads directed at children (not just junk food ads) based on the recognition that children lack the cognitive maturity and life experience to properly interpret commercial advertising, but to raise the age cut-off to 16 or 18” (2013).

Click here to read the statement

Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada
“That the federal government – and if necessary other governments in Canada – introduce regulatory regimes to comprehensively prohibit the direct marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children” (2008:2).

Click here to read the statement

Dietitians of Canada
“The commercial marketing of all food and beverages to children and youth aged 16 years and younger should be restricted. Restrictions would include all forms of marketing with the exception of non-commercial marketing for public education purposes. Dietitians of Canada has adopted the “Ottawa Principles” from the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition”

Click here to read the position statement

Heart & Stroke
“Governments should restrict the commercial marketing of foods and beverages to protect children and support parents. These restrictions are a critical part of a comprehensive food policy and chronic disease prevention plan and will help create environments that make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

Click here to read the fact sheet

Hypertension Canada 
“Hypertension Canada supports restrictions on unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children as a policy intervention to improve diet and prevent early chronic disease. There is consistent evidence that unhealthy food and beverage marketing negatively influence children’s dietary behaviors”.

Click here to read the statement

Childhood Obesity Foundation
“Federal government to immediately begin a legislative process to restrict all marketing targeted to children under the age of 13 of foods and beverages high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or sodium and that in the interim the food industry immediately ceases marketing of such food to children”.

Click here to read the statement in English

Click here to read the statement in French

Ontario Medical Association
Ontario doctors are calling for higher taxes and graphic warning labels on junk food to combat what they are calling an “epidemic in the province” when it comes to overweight and obese children… The association plans to present the province with several recommendations, including…[m]arketing of junk food to kids” (2012).

Click here to read the statement

Ontario Public Health Association
“A ban on all commercial advertising targeted to children under thirteen years of age”

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Toronto Board of Health
“…in order to support parents and protect children as part of an overall health strategy, [the Board of Health] calls for a total ban on all commercial advertising targeted to children under 13” (2010)

Click here to read the paper

Click here to view a summary of the above position statements.

International

The World Health Organization: In 2010, the World Health Organization released a set of recommendations on the marketing of food and beverages to children and called upon countries to protect children from marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages.

Click here to view the set of recommendations

Australia’s International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF): A set of seven principles were developed by an International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) Working Group to guide action in Australia on changing food and beverage marketing practices that target children.

Click here to view set the principles