🛑 UK’s Landmark Junk Food Advertising Ban Begins 5 January 2026
From 5 January 2026, the UK enforces a landmark ban on advertising less healthy food and drink products, notably including soft drinks, certain porridges, and chocolate. Targeting items high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS), these new restrictions limit TV commercials before 9pm and paid online adverts at all times. This bold move aims to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing, addressing childhood obesity with a clear focus on everyday products that many may not initially consider junk food. Source: Sky News
From 5 January 2026, the UK introduced comprehensive restrictions on advertising less healthy food and drinks, commonly referred to as HFSS (high in fat, salt or sugar). Two main rules took effect: TV adverts featuring these products are banned before 9pm, effectively protecting children during peak viewing times; and paid online advertising of HFSS products is prohibited at all times. This means sugary soft drinks, certain breakfast cereals, porridges with added sugars, and chocolates cannot be promoted on TV before the watershed or online through paid ads.
This new legal framework marks a shift from prior voluntary compliance, which began in October 2025, to mandatory enforcement, signalling the government’s stronger commitment to reducing childhood exposure to unhealthy food marketing. For advertisers, this requires rigorous product assessments using government nutrient profiling tools to avoid breaching the ban. Consumers will likely see fewer adverts for sugary cereals or chocolate bars on pre-9pm TV, while brands may maintain “brand-only” ads that do not feature restricted products directly.
Source: Sky News
🔑 What You’ll Learn & Why It Matters
- Overview of the UK’s HFSS advertising ban: Understand the new restrictions on advertising high fat, salt, and sugar products, and their focus on childrens’ health.
- Details on product classifications and exemptions: Learn how the nutrient profiling model defines “less healthy” products within various categories.
- Policy enforcement and implications: Insights on regulatory oversight, advertising loopholes, and projected health benefits.
🎯 Objectives and Public Health Rationale
The UK government’s rationale behind the junk food advertising ban, effective from 5 January 2026, centres on addressing public health concerns by reducing children’s exposure to marketing of high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) foods. The primary goal is to curb the rising childhood obesity rates by restricting HFSS food adverts before the 9pm watershed on TV and at all times online. Government estimates project the removal of up to 7.2 billion calories annually from children’s diets, potentially preventing 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.
These measures are expected to yield approximately £2 billion in long-term health benefits by alleviating diet-related diseases and NHS burdens. The policy focuses on 13 product categories, including popular items such as soft drinks, certain breakfast cereals, porridges, and chocolates, applying a nutrient profiling model to define “less healthy” products. Public health indicators underscore the urgency, given the high proportions of children entering and leaving primary school overweight or obese, strengthening the case for legislative action to promote healthier dietary habits. Source: Sky News
🧪 Defining “Less Healthy” Products
From 5 January 2026, the UK’s new advertising rules define “junk food” using a rigorous two-step test. Firstly, the product must belong to one of 13 designated categories linked to childhood obesity, which include obvious items like chocolates, sweets, and soft drinks with added sugar, but also less expected ones such as breakfast cereals, porridges, sweetened breads, and sugary yoghurts. Secondly, the product must be classified as “less healthy” based on a nutrient profiling model.
This nutrient profiling model evaluates levels of sugar, salt, and saturated fat, alongside the overall nutrient balance, to generate a score. If a product scores above a specified threshold, it is deemed “less healthy” and thus falls under the advertising restrictions. For instance, while plain oats or unsweetened porridge typically pass this test, variants with added sugar or chocolate do not. Similarly, many soft drinks and most chocolates exceed the threshold, bringing them within scope. This nuanced approach ensures that not all products within these categories are restricted—only those compromising nutritional standards. Source: Sky News
📘 Introduction to the Advertising Ban
The UK’s junk food advertising ban, effective from 5 January 2026, targets “less healthy” products across 13 specific categories linked to childhood obesity, including soft drinks, porridge, and chocolate. These items fall under categories such as sugar-sweetened soft drinks, breakfast cereals and porridges, and chocolates and sweets. The inclusion hinges on a nutrient profiling model evaluating sugar, salt, saturated fat, and overall nutrient composition.
Products exceeding set thresholds in these nutrients classify as “less healthy” (HFSS) and are thus restricted from advertising. Notably, distinctions exist within categories; for example, plain oats and unadulterated porridge generally are exempt, while variants with added sugars or chocolate fail the nutrient profiling score and fall in scope. Similarly, soft drinks must contain added sugars to be included. This nuanced classification ensures that advertising restrictions focus on genuinely less healthy products, encouraging reformulation and limiting children’s exposure to harmful dietary influences. Source: Sky News
📺 Advertising Restrictions and Allowed Exceptions
The UK’s new junk food advertising rules, effective from 5 January 2026, restrict promotion of products high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) across TV and paid online channels. Importantly, these restrictions apply only when the HFSS product is clearly identifiable in the advertisement. This means brand-only advertising, where no specific restricted product is shown, remains allowed—even during the protected hours before 9pm on TV and at all times online.
While this permits brands to maintain visibility through non-product-specific campaigns, it also opens potential “halo effect” loopholes that could undermine the policy’s aims. Outdoor advertising and owned media channels are not the primary targets of these restrictions, raising concerns about advertising displacement. Experts warn that marketing spend may shift towards less regulated arenas like outdoor ads or direct brand communications, potentially diluting the impact. Regulatory oversight is chiefly by the Advertising Standards Authority, yet monitoring these varied channels remains challenging.
Source: Sky News
⚖️ Enforcement and Compliance
Enforcement of the UK’s junk food advertising ban primarily rests with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the independent regulator responsible for ensuring compliance with advertising codes. Businesses must determine if their products fall within the scope by referring to the 13 designated product categories linked to childhood obesity risk, such as soft drinks, chocolate, and certain breakfast cereals. Following this, products undergo assessment using the nutrient profiling scoring system, which evaluates levels of sugar, salt, and saturated fat to establish whether they qualify as “less healthy.”
These processes are governed by the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 and align with the Communications Act 2003, as amended. Advertisers are thus required to meticulously verify product status before airing TV adverts (subject to watershed restrictions) or engaging in paid online promotion, ensuring adherence to legal frameworks and avoiding ASA sanctions. Source: Sky News
⏳ Policy Rollout and Industry Response
The UK’s junk food advert ban, aiming to reduce children’s exposure to HFSS (high fat, salt, sugar) food marketing, officially came into effect on 5 January 2026. Initially planned for this date, the policy faced multiple delays attributed by campaigners to industry pressure, slowing the rollout despite earlier announcements. Before legal enforcement, many advertisers had adhered voluntarily since October 2025.
The industry has shown adaptive responses, including voluntary advertising restrictions and product reformulations, notably influenced by prior interventions like the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. However, concerns remain regarding potential displacement of advertising spend to channels outside the ban and the impact of permitted brand-only marketing on policy effectiveness. Source: Sky News
🎗️ Conclusion: Impact and Ongoing Vigilance
The UK’s junk food advert ban, effective from January 2026, restricts ads for less healthy HFSS products like soft drinks, certain porridges, and chocolate before 9pm on TV and online. Despite loopholes like brand-only ads, the ban is crucial for reducing childhood obesity and improving public health. Ongoing vigilance is needed to address challenges and maximise its positive impact on children’s health. Source: Sky News
