United Kingdom: Condom Ads Could Be Screened Before 9 p.m. Watershed

The policy banning condom ads on television before 9 p.m. would be ended under new guidelines proposed by UK regulators. The new, simplified advertising standards are the result of an 18-month review, the first major re-evaluation of national advertising codes in almost 50 years, by the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice.

Government figures released in February showed that the number of teenage pregnancies in England and Wales had risen for the first time in five years. The new report declares its intention "to relax the pre-9 p.m. ban on condom advertising in response to evidence from the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and in the light of the UK having the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe." It includes the recommendation that the ads should still be kept away from the youngest viewers.

The proposed shift was greeted enthusiastically by condom manufacturer Durex, which said in a statement, "We have consistently made the case for the urgent need for responsible pre-watershed condom advertising on television. We believe very strongly that it is essential to be able to get the right safer sex messages across to the right people at the right time, while ensuring adverts are kept away from the youngest viewers."

In a further change, pregnancy advisory services would also be permitted to advertise on radio for the first time. However, those that do not refer women to abortion providers would be required to make this clear, since delaying abortion can raise the likelihood of complications for women choosing the procedure.

Members of the public will be invited to comment on the proposed changes.

Back to other news for March 2009