We, the undersigned, call on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act (PMPA) - S.213B/A.4424B

BECAUSE, the children of New York State face unprecedented diet-related health challenges, including high and/or growing rates of type 2 diabetes, liver disease, overweight/obesity, and dental caries; and,

BECAUSE, a growing body of research points to poor diet as a factor in mental health problems like depression and anxiety among children and adolescents; and,

BECAUSE, these conditions and their consequences are expensive to treat and control, placing a great fiscal burden on our state and local governments, and an economic burden on many of the families least able to afford it, helping to perpetuate the cycle of poverty; and

BECAUSE, research has established that the more children are exposed to unhealthy food and beverage advertising messages, the more likely they are to consume these products and suffer from the health consequences; and,

BECAUSE, Black and Latino children are disproportionately and inequitably exposed to advertising for fast food, junk food, and sugary beverages - contributing to their higher rates of obesity; and,

BECAUSE, younger children, especially, have limited cognitive capacity to understand and resist sophisticated marketing messages, making such messages inherently misleading; and,

BECAUSE, false and misleading advertising is already illegal under NYS law, and this bill would simply expand the definition of "false and misleading" to include advertising of unhealthy food and beverages specifically marketed to young people (if there is no accompanying mention of the product's health harms); and,

BECAUSE, the PMPA would give NYS families more tools to protect children and youth from these harmful messages.

List of organizations in support