Petition · past parliament

Ban processed meat adverts in the UK

Closed 274 signatures

What the petition asks

Processed meat has been classified as carcinogenic to humans by the WHO. As little as one serving a day increases the risk of diabetes by 50% and heart disease by 42% (guardian) and causes 8,500 cancers every year. Advertisements of it should be banned completely.
Processed meat was now in a group of 120 proven carcinogens, alongside alcohol, asbestos and tobacco.
The WHO advised that consuming 50g of processed meat a day – equivalent to just a couple of rashers of bacon or one hotdog – would raise the risk of getting bowel cancer by 18% over a lifetime. The consumption of processed meat causes an additional 34,000 worldwide cancer deaths a year, four times the number of people killed annually on Britain’s roads.
Consuming just 9g of bacon a day – less than a rasher – could significantly raise the risk of developing breast cancer later in life. Jill Pell from Glasgow University says that “it would be misleading” for health authorities to set any safe dose for processed meat “other than zero”. The Guardian.

Timeline

16 Mar 2018 Petition opened for signatures
16 Sep 2018 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 274
Status Closed
Opened 16 Mar 2018
Closed 16 Sep 2018

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.