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Published on August 3, 2007

They also noted Thai kids spend Bt135 million a day on snacks and soft drinks.

At a seminar hosted by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation yesterday, Itthaboon Onwongsa from the Foundation for Consumers said ad controls were necessary as they were the major factor in kids indulging in unhealthy snacks.

Citing a survey by the "Thai Kids Don't Eat Sweets" network, he said children in Thailand spent Bt135 million a day on snacks and beverages - calculated from 900,000 kids aged 3-12 spending Bt8 to Bt10 a day on snacks and another Bt5 a day on beverages.

With such a huge snack market, Thailand will find it costly to treat the health problems that arise in these children later.

Dr Parichart Sthapitanonda, from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts, cited a study on advertising during children's television programmes in 13 developed countries.

Australia aired such ads at the rate of 12 times per hour, America at 11 times and England at 10 times, compared to Thailand's 42 times per hour. She said Thailand could very well have the highest frequency of such ads in the world.

Dr Prapaporn Jujaroen, a brain development expert from Mahidol University's National Institute for Child and Family Development, said letting children see snack ads on TV over and over could have such images stick in their mind and stimulate them to try the snacks.

Many ads also featured young presenters with premature attitudes and actions, creating improper examples for impressionable audiences, she said, adding that watching TV continuously would also slow the brain development of young children.

A discussion on legislation to control snack advertising for children will be held today at 1.30pm at the Public Relations Department, Soi Ratchakru, for academics, health officials, business operators, media and the public to voice their opinions about advertising controls.