South Australia bans junk food ads on public transport

Canberra, Jan 12 (IANS) South Australia (SA) has become the first Australian state to ban junk food advertisements on public transport to tackle obesity and promote healthy diets.

The ban, which will be effective on July 1, 2025, prohibits images of unhealthy products such as chocolate, lollies, confectionery, desserts, ice creams, soft drinks, and chips from appearing on public buses, trains, and trams, reports Xinhua news agency.

Strong evidence has demonstrated that food and drink marketing can affect a child's nutrition knowledge, food preferences and consumption patterns; obesity and type 2 diabetes have also been linked to the advertisement of unhealthy food and drinks, experts said on Saturday.

"Junk food marketing has a really powerful, persuasive influence on what our children eat," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) quoted Jane Martin from the Food for Health Alliance as saying.