Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
MRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2023 Nov 29;45(4):878-887. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad155.
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.
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).
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.
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.
商业广告和赞助推动了有害商品的消费。地方当局（LAs）拥有相当大的权力来减少这种暴露。本研究旨在描述所有英国地方当局的地方商业政策。
我们对所有英国地方当局（n=333）进行了普查，以通过在线搜索和信息自由请求，确定有关广告和赞助烟草、酒精、不太健康食品和赌博的地方商业政策。我们探讨了政策的存在、商品的频率和类型，以及与地方当局特征（地区、城乡和贫困程度）的关联。
英格兰只有三分之一（106 个）的地方当局有相关政策（32%）。这些政策包括对烟草（91%）、赌博（79%）、酒精（74%）和/或不太健康食品（24%）的限制。在英格兰东部（22%）、东北部（25%）和西北部（27%），政策的流行程度最低，城市地区（36%）高于农村地区（28%），最贫困地区（27%）低于最贫困地区（38%）。政策中的定义各不相同，特别是在酒精和不太健康食品方面。
英国地方当局目前未能充分利用其手段来减少有害商品行业营销的负面影响，特别是在不太健康食品方面。标准化的指导，包括定义和应用的明确性，可以为地方政策的制定提供信息。
