New Zealand (Commonwealth Union) – The impact of advertising to carry negative messaging has prompted many governments and policy makers to make restrictions on tobacco, alcohol and gambling across the world. Restrictions often include outright bans of adds, to blurred images of the consumption of tobacco and alcohol.
A recent study has called for an end to outdoor marketing campaigns for gambling, alcohol and junk food indicating its urgently need to avoid negative impacts on children. The study was conducted by New Zealand’s, University of Otago.
The study demonstrated that children in Aotearoa (Maori reference for the North Island) are subjected to 7 gambling advertisements a day, half on shop fronts alone; 4.5 alcohol advertisements a day, a 3rd of which are on shop fronts; and 27 junk food advertisements per day, a 3rd of which are in outdoor public areas. Each hour children were in public outdoor areas, they spent 70 % of the time in the street, 13 % in outdoor recreation areas and 13 % in outdoor sports areas.
The research involved 122 Wellington area 12-year-olds with body cameras for 4 days together with mapping evaluations of the effect of marketing bans on children. The innovative Kids ‘Cam took a picture every 7 seconds, marking how frequently children faced harmful advertising campaigns as they continued their daily routines.
Senior author Professor Louise Signal, of the University of Otago, stated that children are exposed to harmful marketing across many settings, and not just those conceived as “child places” such as playgrounds or around schools. The study also indicated the part of billboards across the community. “It was clear there were few settings children could escape these harmful marketing messages so comprehensive action is needed,” Professor Signal added.
The research was funded by the Cancer Society, where its Medical Director Dr Kate Gregory indicated that the findings should shock policymakers into action.
