CANCER Council Victoria is calling for urgent government action to limit marketing by harmful industries at Southern Cross Station.
The call is backed by research, released this week, showing 44% of ads inside the busy railway station used by more than five million people each month promote alcohol, sugary drinks, or unhealthy food.
Regional travellers, including public transport users on the Yarram, Leongatha, Inverloch and Phillip Island routes are among those most exposed to the harm as they wait for their connections.
Of 858 advertisements observed in Southern Cross Station over a four-week period, around a quarter (24%) promoted alcohol, with around half of these (49%) larger than 5m2 – the size of an eight-seat dining table.
They say 1 in 5 (20%) ads inside the station promoted junk food, such as fast food, confectionary and sugary drinks. For reference, 7% of ads audited promoted healthier food or drink products.
Data was collected during the AFL’s Kids Go Free initiative in 2024. During this period, children’s attendance at AFL games was expected to increase by over 20% and travel by public transport was encouraged by the initiative.
Cancer Council Victoria’s Alcohol Programs Manager, Alison McAleese, explained that alcohol ads are not allowed on most public transport assets in Victoria, but Southern Cross Station is a glaring loophole that needs to be closed to protect kid’s health.
“Our community has a right to expect children should be protected from alcohol product marketing. Yet shockingly, there's nothing preventing the alcohol industry from promoting their harmful, addictive products in Southern Cross Station, where Victorian kids pass through daily to get to public events, sporting matches, school, and extracurricular activities.
“Too few people know that alcohol is a group 1 carcinogen linked to 7 types of cancer including breast, bowel, liver and throat.
“And unfortunately, the more frequently a child is exposed to alcohol advertising the more likely they are to use alcohol from a younger age and engage in harmful patterns of alcohol use later in life.”
CEO of Cancer Council Victoria, Todd Harper AM, said the organisation was also deeply concerned about the high prevalence of unhealthy food and sugary drink ads inside Victoria’s largest public transport hub.
“To prevent cancer and other chronic health issues, our government must put public health above corporate profits and help create environments – including bustling transport hubs – that actively support, not undermine, Victorians’ efforts to limit alcohol and eat a heathy diet.
“Without policies to limit this harmful and powerful advertising, the alcohol and processed food industries will keep pouring millions of dollars every year into promoting their unhealthy products with no regard for the health or wellbeing of our community.”
Since 2022, Cancer Council Victoria’s Food Fight campaign has been calling on the Victorian Government to remove unhealthy food and drink advertising from public transport, transport infrastructure and within 500m of schools across Victoria. Learn more and sign up to support the campaign by visiting cancervic.org.au/foodfight
About the research:? This research involved surveying advertising at Southern Cross Station on each of the four weeks of the Kids Go Free rounds of the AFL in June – July 2024. Researchers documented the number of alcohol and unhealthy food and drink ads each week. The size of alcohol advertisements was also observed and categorised. Researchers defined ‘unhealthy food and drinks’ in line with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council National Interim Guide for Food Promotion. These guidelines consider certain foods unsuitable for promotion, including confectionary, sugar[1]sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks, cakes, and fast food.
