Press Release
September 6, 2006
Oakland, CA—A nonprofit public health law center today released two new guides to help reduce the impact of unhealthy food and beverage marketing on children across the country.
The Public Health Law Program (PHLP), a project of the nonprofit Public Health Institute, compiled and evaluated dozens of possible government and school regulatory measures, a number of which have never been implemented in the United States.
The options are grouped into three categories—according to the red, yellow, a nd green lights of a traffic signal—based on how likely they are to survive a legal challenge.
"A number of recent Supreme Court decisions have protected commercial speech the way that courts have historically protected political, religious, and artistic speech," says PHLP director Marice Ashe. "Trying to limit junk food and soda industry marketing to kids can be a tricky proposition. But if it's done carefully, there are many possibilities."
Among PHLP's "green light" options (if carefully crafted to avoid legal pitfalls):
- Requiring restaurants to include nutritional information for menu items
- Prohibiting "toy-with-purchase" giveaways with non-nutritious meals
- Imposing fees on businesses that sell non-nutritious foods and beverages
- Implementing a V-chip rating system for TV commercials, which would allow parents to block ads for products such as fast food and candy
PHLP developed a separate guide specifically for public schools, which have become a prime target for fast-food, soda, and candy marketers. Public school administrators have the authority and obligation to protect the educational environment of their schools, but they often underestimate their options when it comes to limiting the commercial messages that bombard their students, says Ashe.
This fall public schools across the country are hastening to launch new "wellness policies" in order to comply with the USDA Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, which establishes guidelines for schools to receive federal funding for meal programs. "Schools can maximize their efforts to protect students through some of the options in our guide," says Ashe.
Both guides are available online.
PHLP works with community-based organizations, government agencies, schools, and elected officials to create groundbreaking policy solutions to public health challenges. For more information, visit www.phlaw.org.
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