Publicity and marketing PAOS Code
Listado de Contenidos:
This section details the agreements and accords that the Ministry of Health
and Consumer Affairs and the Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency (AESAN)
signed with various organisations and institutions from the business sector,and
the commitments undertaken to contribute to the promotion of healthy habits and
the prevention of obesity among the population. Overweight and obesity are issues that should not be limited solely to
either the national health system or the healthcare sector.Action at a
community level must play a leading role and should bring about an overall
mobilization of society.It would be naive,however,to underestimate the
considerable contribution that the health system,especially the primary
healthcare system and its staff,can make to an anti-obesity strategy.Obesity
prevention,detection and treatment,including the promotion of healthy eating
habits and physical exercise,should be included in the routine activities
carried out by the health care system. Our health system is an extraordinarily powerful mechanism,with a staff of
well-trained doctors at all levels who must bear a large part of the
responsibility in the fight against obesity.In general,people place a great
deal of trust in doctors and nurses and consider them to be figures of
authority.This makes them the first line of responsibility in implementing
preventative and recuperative measures,and especially in promoting healthy
habits.
New PAOS Code
On 26 December 2012, the Minister for Health, Social Services and Equality
and the President of the AESAN signed the new PAOS code with the FIAB, the
Association for the Self-regulation of Advertising (Autocontrol), the
distribution sector (ANGED, ASEDAS and ACES), and the hotel and catering
sectors (FEHR and FEHRCAREM). This is a step forwards in complying with the
Food Safety and Nutrition Law passed by the Government in 2011, in which
articles 45 and 46 establish the obligation to promote co-regulation agreements
and codes of conduct with economic operators to regulate the advertising of
food and drink aimed at young people under the age of 15, in order to prevent
obesity and encourage healthy habits. In 2005 the Ministry of Healthy , the AESAN and the Spanish Federation of
Food and Drink Industries (FIAB) as part of the newly-created NAOS Strategy
signed an initial Code of Self-Regulation establishing the rules which govern
the development, implementation and diffusion of advertising aimed at children
under the age of 12. TELEVISION NETWORKS also endorsed the PAOS CODE, in order to reinforce
compliance to the Code in the advertising of food and drink on television,
aimed at children under the age of 12. The Federation of Regional Radio and Television Networks (FORTA) and the
Union of Associated Commercial Television Networks (UTECA), the latter
representing Antena 3 Televisión, Gestevisión, Telecinco, Grupo Sogecable, La
Sexta Televisión, Veo and NET Televisión, endorsed the PAOS Code in 2010, with
the undertaking that all food and drink advertising aimed at minors or
broadcast during children’s protected viewing times, would comply with the
regulations established in the PAOS Code. This collaboration was decisive in
enabling wider implementation of the Code. The new PAOS Code includes significant improvements in that it extends its
scope of application to Internet directed at children under 15 in order to
adapt to present-day reality, Internet being the medium in which advertising
directed at teenagers has increased significantly. This comes in answer to European Parliament Ruling of 25 September 2008, on
the European Commission’s White Paper regarding a Strategy for Europe on
Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity related health issues. This mentions the
importance of considering the use of new forms of marketing using electronic
means, as other communication media such as Internet are increasing the
presence of food advertising directed mainly at teenagers. It also responds to the European Parliament Ruling of 15 December 2010, on
the impact of advertising on consumer behaviour, which specifically considers
the problems generated by the development of the internet and new technologies,
and establishes the need to safeguard children and teenagers given their
particular vulnerability to said media. Lastly, this is in line with the recent
Communication from the European Commission, on 2 May 2012, concerning a
“European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children”. Another new section of the PAOS Code is the inclusion of the distribution
and contemporary hotel and catering sectors as new partners. These are
strategic agents in the food chain, who have joined the pioneer exercise
started by the food and drink industry, through the FIAB, in collaboration with
the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality and Autocontrol. Along these lines, industry, trade and the catering sector, in collaboration
with Public Administration, have the support of Autocontrol to enable them to
maintain the high levels of quality reached to date. The new Code is incorporated into the NAOS Strategy for nutrition, physical
activity and the prevention of obesity. Childhood obesity is a multifunctional problem requiring the coordinated
response of all the agents involved which not only includes the industry,
distribution, hotel and catering and advertising sectors but also health
authorities, parents and educators and many others. Measures must go beyond the
mere control of food advertising, which is necessary but insufficient when
considered in isolation. Almost 46 percent of children between six and nine years of age suffer from
obesity or overweight. These figures are taken from the ALADINO study,
conducted by the Spanish Agency for Food Safety (AESAN), on a sample of 7500
girls and boys. The study reveals that 26.1% of the children in this age group are
overweight, and 19.1% are obese, with problems of overweight affecting more
boys than girls in this age group. Nevertheless, the behaviour leading to this
situation, such as a sedentary lifestyle or poor eating habits, is apparent in
both sexes. The prevention of obesity, the reversal of the trend, is becoming one of the
most significant public health challenges faced today, justifying the promotion
of a set of measures which includes the new PAOS Code.
WHO-Set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic
beverages to children
