KEY POINTS:
A bill giving the Government sweeping powers to combat obesity could lead to supermarkets being told where to place unhealthy food and restrictions on television advertising of junk food to children, critics say.
The Public Health Bill provides new ways for the Cabinet or the Director-General of Health to act against suspected causes of obesity.
Health groups are strongly backing the new provisions, but the advertising industry is lobbying politicians to amend the bill before it is passed.
National's health spokesman, Tony Ryall, yesterday labelled features of the bill as "nanny state gone too far" and said it could result in stores being told where to place items such as wine and cheese and restrictions on the sale of some products near schools.
It could also have implications for fast-food sponsorships.
"These are far-reaching regulations that have been sneaked into the bill with very little fanfare or explanation," Mr Ryall said.
"This is Helen Clark getting into your pantry."
In the first submission to a select committee considering the bill yesterday, a group of health organisations said it was urgently needed.
The Chronic Disease Prevention Peak Group - representing the Cancer Society, Diabetes NZ and the National Heart Foundation, among others - said it had conducted a phone poll of 401 parents and grandparents and discovered most were concerned about television advertising of food and drinks to children.
Professor Norman Sharpe told the committee that provisions in the bill that potentially restricted that advertising wouldn't fix obesity on their own but were a "significant piece" of the jigsaw puzzle.
Asked how long it would take to reduce child obesity if television advertising was restricted, Professor Sharpe replied: "It will take decades. But we need to pull out all the stops now and not wait for another decade to go by."
He said international experience showed voluntary codes and self-regulation for advertisers did not bring significant change for children.
And he dismissed suggestions the Government might order stores where to put items as "ridiculous".
But New Zealand Advertisers Association executive director Jeremy Irwin said industry self-regulation had been successful, and parts of the bill were unnecessary and written in an ambiguous way.
"There are a lot of very contentious points in it that we need clarification on," he said.
Advertisers will make submissions on the bill.
The legislation extends public health powers for the first time to non-communicable diseases such ascancer, cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes.
Health Minister David Cunliffe last night said there were "still many conversations to be had" before the final wording of the bill was settled.
Non-communicable diseases were now the major cause of illness and death in society, and had overtaken communicable diseases in that respect, he said.
"We have an obesity epidemic and the new bill acknowledges that public health is about health promotion, prevention and targeting of specific health conditions whether they be communicable or part of change in society."
WHAT THE LEGISLATION SAYS
* The Cabinet would be able to make regulations at any time to reduce, or assist in reducing, risk factors associated with, or related to, non-communicable diseases.
* A risk factor is defined as something that on its own or with other things could immediately or gradually give rise to or increase the incidence of non-communicable diseases.
* The Director-General of Health would be able to issue a voluntary code of practice or guidelines to an industry.
* The code could make provisions on the accessibility of specified goods or substances, and the way these goods are advertised, sponsored or marketed.
* The codes would not initially be legally binding, but the Health Ministry would have to report to its minister within three years of the law taking effect on whether they should be made binding.
