BODY-SHAMING ADS BANNED: The newly elected mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is cracking down on ads on the London Underground that promote unhealthy body images.
He is working with Transport for London, the network that oversees tubes and buses in the British capital to ban such ads. He has requested that the company develop an Advertising Steering Group to monitor what appears in public.
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According to a statement issued by his office, Khan made a pledge during his election campaign to take action to ban advertisements that promote an “unrealistic or unhealthy body shape, or as likely to create body confidence issues, particularly among young people.”
He said that as “the father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this kind of advertising which can demean people, particularly women, and make them ashamed of their bodies,” said Khan.
“It is high time it came to an end. Nobody should feel pressured, while they travel on the tube or bus, into unrealistic expectations surrounding their bodies and I want to send a clear message to the advertising industry about this.”