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Junk food adverts to be banned on buses and trains

PA Media A pile of cheeseburgers and french friesPA Media
Adverts for junk food will not be allowed on some transport services

Junk food adverts will be banned on some bus and train services to tackle childhood obesity.

The North East, which is among nine areas to join the initiative, will ban unhealthy food promotions on the Metro and bus services.

The region's mayor, Kim McGuinness, said "enough was enough" and "targeting" children with such adverts was "predatory".

The AdEnough campaign was started by chef Jamie Oliver, who said it was a "vital step" because children were "constantly bombarded with unhealthy messaging around food".

The ban will be replicated by mayors in Greater Manchester, Liverpool, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the West Midlands.

PA Media Chef Jamie Oliver at a public speaking event, gesticulating with his hands, in front of a screen showing a child eating a sandwichPA Media
Chef Jamie Oliver said banning adverts was vital to protecting child health

According to a recent Newcastle City Council report, 11% of reception-age children and 26% of those in year six in the North East were classed as obese.

More than one in five children in England were overweight or obese by the time they started primary school, government statistics suggest.

That rose to more than one in three by the time they left.

Ms McGuinness the pledge would "send a clear message to junk food companies and align with broader national efforts to restrict junk food advertising".

It will be implemented once her plans to take control of buses away from private operators are finalised.

Kim McGuinness, who has long blond hair smiles at the camera
North East mayor Kim McGuiness said enough was enough

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said young people deserved "the best possible start in life" and the initiative had "taken the fight to the junk food giants".

The ban is already in force on tubes and buses in London.

Jamie Oliver said it was "so brilliant to see the mayors stepping up", adding it was a "much-needed and vital step towards creating healthier, happier communities across the UK".

However, he said, there was a "long way to go" to tackle "unhealthy messaging around food".

In September it was announced that online adverts for junk food will be banned from next year.

The ban, which will also apply to adverts shown on TV before 21:00, will begin in October 2025.

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