Abstract
Background
Commercial advertising and sponsorship drive the consumption of harmful commodities. Local authorities (LAs) have considerable powers to reduce such exposures. This study aimed to characterize local commercial policies across all English LAs.
Methods
We conducted a census of all English LAs (n = 333) to identify local commercial policies concerning advertising and sponsorship of tobacco, alcohol, less healthy foods and gambling, through online searches and Freedom of Information requests. We explored policy presence, commodity frequency and type, and associations with LA characteristics (region, urban/rural and deprivation).
Results
Only a third (106) of LAs in England had a relevant policy (32%). These included restrictions on tobacco (91%), gambling (79%), alcohol (74%) and/or less healthy foods (24%). Policy prevalence was lowest in the East of England (22%), North East (25%) and North West (27%), higher in urban areas (36%) than rural areas (28%) and lower in the least (27%) compared with the most (38%) deprived areas. Definitions in policies varied, particularly for alcohol and less healthy foods.
Conclusions
English LAs currently underutilize their levers to reduce the negative impacts of harmful commodity industry marketing, particularly concerning less healthy foods. Standardized guidance, including clarity on definitions and application, could inform local policy development.
Commercial advertising and sponsorship drive the consumption of harmful commodities. Local authorities (LAs) have considerable powers to reduce such exposures. This study aimed to characterize local commercial policies across all English LAs.
Methods
We conducted a census of all English LAs (n = 333) to identify local commercial policies concerning advertising and sponsorship of tobacco, alcohol, less healthy foods and gambling, through online searches and Freedom of Information requests. We explored policy presence, commodity frequency and type, and associations with LA characteristics (region, urban/rural and deprivation).
Results
Only a third (106) of LAs in England had a relevant policy (32%). These included restrictions on tobacco (91%), gambling (79%), alcohol (74%) and/or less healthy foods (24%). Policy prevalence was lowest in the East of England (22%), North East (25%) and North West (27%), higher in urban areas (36%) than rural areas (28%) and lower in the least (27%) compared with the most (38%) deprived areas. Definitions in policies varied, particularly for alcohol and less healthy foods.
Conclusions
English LAs currently underutilize their levers to reduce the negative impacts of harmful commodity industry marketing, particularly concerning less healthy foods. Standardized guidance, including clarity on definitions and application, could inform local policy development.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | fdad155 |
| Pages (from-to) | 878-887 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Public Health |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 22 Aug 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research (SPHR) (grant number PD-SPH-2015). FDV is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West). CJ is supported in part by the Northwest London NIHR ARC. Imperial College London is grateful for support from the Northwest London NIHR Applied Research Collaborative and the Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. MW is supported by the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge (grant number MC/UU/00006/7). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.
