Advisory - Country's strongest bill banning commercialism in schools set for Public Health Committee hearing - 05/25/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 25, 2007 Contact: Patrick Golden
617-722-2130
COUNTRY’S STRONGEST BILL BANNING COMMERICALISM IN SCHOOLS SET FOR
PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE HEARING
Boston – State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health, today announced the committee is scheduled to hear testimony on legislation banning the sale of junk food in schools.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 30, 2007, 10 a.m.
WHERE: State House, Hearing Room A-1
WHAT: Top experts testify on dangers of advertising in schools, including Susan Linn, Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood, author of “Consuming Kids”
School-aged children are bombarded with advertisements. In fact, many view up to 30,000 television ads per year. Whereas companies spent $100 million in the early 1980s marketing their products to children, they now spend upwards of $17 billion. Schools have become an increasingly popular place for companies to market their products as a captive audience of students. Many cash-strapped school districts use advertising revenue to plug budget gaps. In 2000, the federal General Accounting Office identified marketing in schools as a growth industry.
- A recent Institute of Medicine report on food and beverage marketing to youth finds that “the commercial advertising and marketing of foods and beverages influences the diets and health of children and youth.”
- Marketing is a factor in childhood obesity, youth violence, sexuality, eating disorders, family conflict, and increased materialism.
- Children spend seven hours a day – nearly half their waking hours – in school. More than 7 out of 10 Massachusetts school districts have contracts with beverage companies permitting the sale of their products on school grounds. Most are “exclusive advertising rights” which permit the companies to buy exclusive rights to sell, market, and advertise their products within a school or school system.
Rep Koutoujian’s bill, “An Act relative to the public health impact of commercialism in schools,” would prohibit companies from advertising their products on public school grounds. It would also prohibit companies from providing any type of promotional items or gifts – other than their primary products – which bear the mark or brand name of the manufacturer’s products. It is the strongest school commercialism legislation in the country and would provide children with a needed safe-haven from advertising and marketing that undermines their wellbeing.
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