A Russian parliamentarian is promising to draft a bill that would effectively ban advertising on foods with high sugar, salt or saturated fat levels, newspaper Komersant Daily reported.

MP Vasiliy Shestakov of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party said the move to amend federal legislation would help encourage healthy eating habits, the story reported.

"The amendments actually equate fast food advertising to alcohol advertising," Shestakov told the newspaper, adding fast food was a threat to healthier "national" food.

The story reported the draft would give detailed information on maximum allowed content of sugar, salt or saturated fat, and if a product didn't make the grade it would be banned from advertisements through the press, TV and radio programs broadcast between 7am and 10pm, as well as in all media targeting children.

A representative of Vi, a group that sells advertising space in Russia, told Komersant soft drinks and fast food accounted for around 2.5% of all television advertising and were worth 4.5-5 billion rubles (US$79-88 million) this year.

Photo: Jeffreyw, via Wikimedia Commons

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