CANBERRA, June 29 Asia Pulse - Australian parliament will introduce laws to ban junk food advertising aimed at children on television, the internet and mobile devices next week.
Greens leader Bob Brown said Labor and the coalition needed to seriously consider his legislation.
"(They should) listen to what the medical advice says, or look at the economic ramifications if you can't see the social ramifications of the coming epidemic of obesity in this country and around the world," Senator Brown told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) on Monday called on the federal government to introduce new rules for the fast-food industry, saying self-regulation was not working.
The call came after a study found that children were being exposed to the same number of junk-food ads on TV despite the fast-food industry's introduction of voluntary rules about marketing products to children.
The study found the total number of fast-food ads had increased after the industry's voluntary code was introduced in August 2009, with no change in those for junk food.
But the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) says ads for unhealthy foods aimed at children make up a "very small proportion" of all food and beverage ads.
Seven fast-food chains including McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC have signed up to the voluntary code, which set new nutrition standards for foods aimed at under-14s.
(AAP) ry 29-06 1703
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