A Knesset committee has given initial approval to a law that would prohibit the use of celebrities or famous fictional characters to promote unhealthy foods. The law, proposed by MK Orit Noked (Labor), would also prohibit junk food advertisements before 9 p.m. in hopes of preventing young children from seeing the ads.
Noked explained that the average child sees almost 40,000 ads every year, many of them promoting unhealthy food. Junk food consumption can lead to obesity, which costs Israel an estimated $2.65 billion per year, she said. Noked’s proposal would create a special committee to determine which foods are harmful to children’s health and therefore subject to the new restrictions.