Slashdot Mirror
London Plans To Ban Junk Food Advertising On Public Transport (bloomberg.com)
Junk food advertising could be banned from the entire Transport for London network under proposals announced by Mayor Sadiq Khan, as he tries to tackle rising levels of childhood obesity in the city. From a report: "I want to reduce the influence and pressure that can be put on children and families to make unhealthy choices," Khan said in a statement announcing the proposals to ban advertisements for unhealthy food and drink on London's trains, buses and bus shelters. The mayor also proposed a ban on new hot food takeaway stores opening within 400 meters of schools.
London has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in Europe -- nearly 40 percent of 10-11 year-olds in the capital are overweight or obese, according to the statement. Children from poorer areas are disproportionately affected by the "obesity epidemic," Khan said, adding that young people from Barking and Dagenham in East London are almost twice as likely to be overweight as children from the upmarket Richmond neighborhood.
London has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in Europe -- nearly 40 percent of 10-11 year-olds in the capital are overweight or obese, according to the statement. Children from poorer areas are disproportionately affected by the "obesity epidemic," Khan said, adding that young people from Barking and Dagenham in East London are almost twice as likely to be overweight as children from the upmarket Richmond neighborhood.
I get the whole 'healthy lifestyle' campaigns to battle obesity, but this essentially groups junk food with cigarettes which was similarly banned in the US from public 'mass media' advertisement (tele/billboard).
At that point you're classifying categories of comfort food as 'junk'. How long is it until chocolate is also junk food? Junk food is only dangerous by over indulgence. Smoking however is deliberate damage to the lungs, even if 'moderated' just like alcohol is to the brain. Oddly enough alcohol has no such advertising ban, as they 'self moderate' to only legal drinking age markets supposedly.
I don't read AC
The way it used to work is that the government built houses and rented them out cheap. They were decent houses too, with facilities near by.
That kept the private house builders and landlords honest. They had to offer something better than the already pretty good baseline. It kept prices down too.
Didn't always work, but when it did it was far better than what we have now.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC