Transport for NSW has responded to claims from the Cancer Council the NSW Government is pushing an anti-obesity agenda while accepting millions from junk food advertisers.
Yesterday, B&T reported Cancer Council had called the government ‘contradictory’ in its approach to advertising.
Speaking on the issue, Cancer Council NSW nutrition program manager Wendy Watson said: “By accepting this advertising and money, it’s contradicting the work that they’re doing.
“There’s so much evidence that advertising influences children’s eating behaviours – what they want to eat, what they pester their parents to buy,” Watson added.
Now, a spokesperson from Transport NSW has sent a statement to B&T, which cites its “clear set of content guidelines”.
“Transport for NSW’s policy on the advertising of food and beverage products is consistent with advertising standards permitted across various media formats across the state,” the spokesperson said.
“At Transport for NSW we have a clear set of content standard guidelines which all related entities and all our agencies, including Sydney Trains and State Transit, are required to comply with.”
The spokesperson added: “Advertising material appearing on Transport assets must comply with all applicable Laws, as well as a range of industry standards and voluntary codes of conduct established by the advertising industry including the Australian Association of National Advertisers Code for Advertising & Marketing Communications to Children.”
According to the Cancer Council, it as well as other health-focused councils have vowed to put pressure on the government leading up to the next election so scrap junk food advertising public transport and other state-owned inventory.
In a recent study led by the Cancer Council, 292 food advertisements were identified, 78 of which were on trains, 214 on buses.
Of these, the council found 82 per cent of the ads were related to confectionary and discretionary food, including soft drinks, chips and ice-cream.
