The new regulations restricting the advertising of so-called ‘less healthy” food and drink products have (finally) come into force.

We have commented on the regulations previously in extensive detail (see, for example, here). They apply to businesses with 250 or more employees and impose:

• A total ban of paid-for online advertising of less healthy food and drink products (which also applies to advertising appearing on non-Ofcom regulated on-demand programme services (ODPS)); and
• A restriction on advertising less healthy food and drink products on Ofcom-regulated TV and ODPS (including Ofcom-regulated IPTV services) between 5.30am and 9pm.

While the industry had volunteered to comply with the new rules from 1 October 2025 – the original date on which the ban was due to take effect, before being delayed to accommodate a statutory instrument creating an explicit exemption for so-called ‘brand advertising’ – the measures officially came into force on 5 January 2026.

At the end of last year, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) published final guidance on the regulations, which included helpful clarification on matters such as what constitutes ‘brand advertising’, and who is responsible for compliance.

Separately, we released our free Less Healthy Food Compliance Tool aimed at helping businesses quickly assess whether their ads may by caught by the restrictions.

To try the Tool, click here.