The Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025
The Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025 establish an exemption from advertising restrictions for brand advertisements of less healthy food and drink products, as defined within the regulations, under the Communications Act 2003.
The regulations clarify this exemption by detailing specific criteria for what constitutes a brand advertisement and what types of brand advertisements remain subject to restriction.
The regulations came into force on October 31, 2025, and apply to all four nations within the United Kingdom.
Arguments For
Intended benefits: The exemption aims to balance public health goals with the needs of businesses, particularly those with established brands predating the restrictions. This could reduce the economic impact of the advertising bans on established brands.
Evidence cited: The regulations refer to the Communications Act 2003 and the Health and Care Act 2022 which provide the legal basis for the restrictions and exemptions. A linked impact assessment provides details on the potential economic effects of the restrictions.
Implementation methods: The regulations clearly define what constitutes a brand advertisement and what is exempt, providing clear guidelines for businesses to comply. The Department of Health and Social Care is likely responsible for enforcement.
Legal/historical basis: The regulations are made under the powers conferred by specific sections of the Communications Act 2003 as empowered by the Health and Care Act 2022, providing a solid legal foundation.
Arguments Against
Potential impacts: The exemption could weaken the overall impact of the restrictions on advertising less healthy food and drink, potentially leading to continued exposure and promotion of health-unfavourable products.
Implementation challenges: Defining and enforcing the exemption criteria might require significant resources. There's a risk of ambiguity in interpretation, leading to inconsistencies in application.
Alternative approaches: The advertising restrictions could be designed to be stricter with fewer, clearer exceptions. Alternative strategies to reduce consumption of less healthy foods, like increased taxation or public health campaigns, could be considered.
Unintended effects: The exemption may disproportionately benefit large, established brands at the expense of smaller businesses, or unfairly advantage certain products already popular in the market.
- Citation, extent, application and commencement (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025. (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. (3) These Regulations come into force on 31st October 2025.
This section establishes the regulations' title, geographical scope, and effective date.
The regulations apply across the UK and become enforceable on October 31, 2025.
- Exemption to prohibitions for brand advertising (1) A brand advertisement is— (a) prescribed for the purposes of section 321A(3)(b) of the Communications Act 2003 (“the Act”), and (b) exempted from the prohibitions imposed by sections 368FA(1) and 368Z14(1) of the Act. (2) In paragraph (1), “brand advertisement” means an advertisement that promotes a brand, including the brand of a range of products, but does not include an advertisement to which any of paragraphs (3), (4) or (5) apply. (3) This paragraph applies to an advertisement the content of which depicts a specific less healthy food or drink product, unless— (a) such depiction of the product is only by way of the name of the product, including where the name of the product appears in the logo of a company, franchise or other commercial entity or in the logo of a brand of a range of products, and (b) that product’s name falls within paragraph (6). (4) This paragraph applies to an advertisement that promotes a brand the name of which is also the name of a specific less healthy food or drink product, unless that product’s name falls within paragraph (6). (5) This paragraph applies to an advertisement the content of which includes a realistic image of a food or drink product where— (a) the realistic image shows the food or drink itself and is not only of the product’s packaging, and (b) the food or drink product is visually indistinguishable from a specific less healthy food or drink product. (6) A product’s name falls within this paragraph if the full name of that product— (a) is the name or is included in the name of a company, franchise or other commercial entity which was established before 16th July 2025 and which held that name immediately before that date; (b) is the name of the brand of a range of products, where that brand— (i) was in use, as the brand of that range, for the purposes of marketing, advertising or retail sale immediately before 16th July 2025; (ii) held that name immediately before 16th July 2025. (7) In this regulation— (a) “depict” means to represent by way of name, text, imagery, logo, audio cue, jingle, brand character or other branding technique or combination of branding techniques; (b) “less healthy” has the same meaning as sections 321A(4)(c), 368FA(4)(c) and 368Z14(5)(e) of the Act; (c) “range of products” means a group of related food or drink products (whether or not those products are less healthy) and such group— (i) may include a group of products composed of variants of a product, such as different flavours, but (ii) may not include a group of products where such products are differentiated only by pack size or packaging format, such as carton, tin, block or bag; (d) “specific” in relation to a food or drink product, means that the food or drink product— (i) is capable of being purchased, and (ii) is differentiated from other products capable of being purchased, unless it is only differentiated from such other products by pack size or packaging format such as carton, tin, block or bag; (e) “a realistic image” means— (i) a photograph, (ii) a video recording, or (iii) an image, whether still or moving, and however created or altered, that is so realistic as to make it indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a photograph or video recording.
This section defines the conditions for exemption from advertising bans for less healthy food and drink.
It specifies that a "brand advertisement" is exempt, unless it directly depicts a specific less healthy product (beyond just using the name as part of a logo or a longer-established company name), or promotes a brand that shares a name with one such product.
This section carefully defines several key terms, including 'depict', 'less healthy', 'range of products', 'specific' and 'realistic image,' to avoid ambiguity when applying the rules.