The numbers of advertisements children are exposed to have skyrocketed. They see hundreds of ads a day, whether it is at school, on TV, online, on the radio, or on billboards. The ethical question at hand is if it is right for companies to advertise unhealthy food
The trix bunny who encourages kids to collect all the fruity flavors
products to children when they are not yet capable of making good judgments.
Just recently, the Cancer Council of New South Wales has called for stricter regulations on promotional characters that encourage young children to purchase unhealthy foods. It is unethical that food companies are spending millions of dollars on advertisements that try to “brand loyalty” between children and sugary, fatty foods. The number of obese children has increased in the past few years, and this could be directly related to the amount of food advertisements they see a day.
A McDonald's happy meal that lures children in by providing a toy
In response, the Australian Food and Grocery Council declared that they stopped using promotional characters that advertise unhealthy foods to children under 12. Other countries have adopted the same practices, but what about nations such as the US and Canada where child obesity is clearly an issue?
Article Source: Call for Tighter Rules on Food Product Advertising to Children