Close-Up: Live Issue - How bad is the obesity White Paper?

The Choosing Health White Paper bears no good news for advertisers.

While health pressure groups may have welcomed the Government's Choosing Health White Paper, which aims to tackle the growing problems of obesity, binge drinking and sexual disease, the implications for the ad industry could be extremely serious.

The paper sets out a number of recommendations that the Government hopes will turn Britain into a healthier nation by encouraging behavioural change.

Along with measures including the clearer labelling of food and the banning of smoking in public, the paper also proposes dramatic changes to the way 'junk food' is promoted to young people.

Although the paper does not go as far as a total ban on ads for junk food - defined as being high in fat, sugar or salt - it does recommend the imposition of a voluntary code on TV ads so that they are not screened before 9pm.

The White Paper gives the industry …