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Feb 19 '22, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
LET’S TALK ABOUT MARKETING TO CHILDREN & WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT
Session 1: Tobacco and Alcohol
This is session 1 of 2 of the workshops organized by HRIDAY and Global Youth Meet. The next session is planned for February 26, 2022.
Date
February 19, 2022
Time
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM CET
7:00 AM – 10:00 AM PST
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM AST
7:30 PM – 10:30 PM IST
Place
Zoom
About
Children are exposed to pervasive marketing of harmful products such as alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy foods and sweet beverages that exploit their developmental vulnerability and pose a threat and undermine their right to the highest attainable standard of health as outlined in Article 24 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of a Child (CRC). Companies target children to exploit their influence on household spending and build lifelong brand loyalty[1]. These targeted marketing tactics occur in places where children eat, learn and play including school environments, sports events and on digital platforms.
Commercial marketing to children was identified by the 2020 WHO-UNICEF Lancet Commission as “one of the most underappreciated risks to children’s health and wellbeing”. The Commission recommended that an optional protocol to the U.N. CRC be adopted to include regulating commercial marketing to children. Youth-led organisations and youth advocates, such as Tobacco Free Kids, Bite Back 2030, Healthy Caribbean Youth and Jamaican Youth Advocacy Network, have called on policymakers to prioritize full proof policies that prohibit predatory commercial marketing of harmful products in physical and digital spaces that children and youth occupy. Youth need to continue to be at the forefront of this issue and engaged meaningfully in advocacy and policymaking spaces. We need to ensure that youth are given the relevant resources to feel comfortable and confident in these spaces.
GOAL
To build capacity of youth health advocates to identify and challenge industry tactics to market health-harming products to children youth.
OBJECTIVE
- To build awareness and understanding of the alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food and beverage industry playbook to gain child and youth customers
- To build awareness and understanding of the harm of these tactics
- To explore the importance of the watchdog role as health advocates and strategies that can be used to challenge these tactics
- To develop a Call to Action from youth advocates across the globe
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
- Improved understanding of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food and beverage industry tactics to gain child and youth customers
- Increased capacity of youth advocates to identify marketing tactics
- Increased understanding of strategies that can be used to challenge these health harming industry tactics
Program and speakers
Welcome, Goal, Objectives: Danielle Walwyn
Introduction of Moderator: Kimberley Benjamin, Lawyer & Healthy Caribbean Youth Member (TBC)
Overview of Marketing to Children – WHO-UNICEF Lancet Commission Response: Representative from WHO (TBC)
The CRC and How does marketing to children infringe on Children’s Right to Health?: Dr. Tlaleng-Mofokeng, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health (TBC)
Q&A Segment
History of Industry Interference and Marketing to Children – The Tobacco Industry: Dr. Bonnie Balpern-Flesher, Professor, Stanford University
Moderated Discussion – Examples from around the world: Industry interference and marketing tobacco products to children:
Moderator: Aditya Indla, Anti-Vaping Advocate & Gym Americas Core Team Member
- Caribbean – Barbara McGaw, Heart Foundation of Jamaica
- Brazil/ South America – Mariana Pinho , ACT Health Promotion
- North America – Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
Q&A Segment
History of Industry Interference and Marketing to Children – The Alcohol Industry: Kristina Sperkova, President Movendi International
Moderated Discussion – Examples from around the world: Industry interference and marketing alcohol products to children:
- Caribbean – Prof Rohan Maharaj, Senior Lecturer (University of the West Indies) and Technical Advisor (Healthy Caribbean Coalition)
- Latin America – Beatriz Champagne, (CLAS)
Q&A Segment
Lightning Round Discussion: The Youth Have been fighting back!
Examples of strategies to challenge the Tobacco and Alcohol Industry
Moderator: Neha Jain, HRIDAY
- Through Research: HRIDAY – Changes in tobacco depictions after implementation of tobacco-free film and TV rules in Bollywood films in India and Surrogate Advertising Campaigns?
- Through Awareness: Tobacco Prevention Toolkit – Stanford University
CLAS Campaign (TBC)
Q&A Segment
Closing Remarks: Kimberley Benjamin, Lawyer & Healthy Caribbean Youth Member
