Government confirms brands ads’ exemption from LHF ad ban

Following months of uncertainty, the Government has confirmed that it will explicitly state in law that brand ads (i.e. ads that do not feature LHF products) are exempt from the ‘Less Healthy Food & Drink’ (LHF) ad ban.

Originally, the Government had said that brand ads were not intended to be included in the ban, but this was not stated clearly within the law - leaving it to regulators to interpret and implement. 

At the IAB, we have said from the outset that our members and the wider industry need the iron-clad certainty of the brands ads’ exemption to be written into law. Anything short of that would have led to uncertainty and potentially had a profound economic impact. 

Today’s announcement means that the LHF online ad ban will now legally come into effect on 5 January 2026 to allow for the secondary legislation to pass. However, we are calling on our members to abide by the voluntary commitment to not show LHF product-based advertising from 1 October 2025 - the previous implementation date for the ban. 

This is because we - alongside a number of other trade bodies and businesses across the advertising industry - have pledged that we will encourage this as a show of good faith given the Government’s willingness to clarify brand ads’ exemption in the law and to give them the time they need to do this. You can read the letter on the Advertising Association’s site here. 

Commenting on the news, Sinead Coogan Jobes, our Head of Policy & Public Affairs, says: “The Government’s announcement that it will amend the law to explicitly exempt brand ads from the ‘Less Healthy Food & Drink’ ad ban brings welcome clarity and is essential for this ban to be workable. We have been steadfast in our stance that the Government must provide the legal clarity that our members and regulators need in order to abide by the restrictions and for the ban to be implemented as was originally intended by policymakers. Today’s news shows that a common sense approach has prevailed on this matter.

“While the measures will now legally come into effect on 5 January 2026 in order to give the Government the time to implement the secondary legislation, we are calling on all IAB UK members to voluntarily abide by the ban on LHF product-based advertising online from 1 October 2025 as a show of good faith and in preparation for the legal enforcement.”

We are hosting a joint webinar with the Advertising Association, ISBA and IPA tomorrow morning, Friday 23 May 2025, 9.00 - 9.45am. Sign up here.  

 If you have any questions, please get in touch with [email protected]