So, Just Who is Scared of a Ham Sandwich? By James Reed

 Let's torch this South Australian ham sandwich ad ban with a nationalism-soaked roast that'll make the bureaucrats cry into their kale smoothies. This ban is a betrayal of Aussie pride and a gut-punch to cultural sovereignty, all for woke. The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) is screaming about this July 1, 2025, ban on "unhealthy" food ads, like ham salad sandwiches, on Adelaide's buses, trains, and trams.

Ladies and gents, grab your meat pies and hide your charcuterie boards, because South Australia's gone full dystopian vegan overlord! As of July 1, 2025, the state's banning ads for ham salad sandwiches, yes, the humble hammer, Australia's lunchbox legend on Adelaide's public transport. Why? To "save" kids from obesity, because apparently a bus ad for a ham roll is the Pied Piper leading 35% of South Aussie kids (and 63% of adults) to a KFC drive-thru. Chocolate, lollies, chips, soft drinks, ice cream, desserts, and processed meats like ham are all persona non grata. It's like the government's declared war on flavour, and the AANA's out here waving the white flag, shouting, "This is bloody madness!"

The AANA's CEO, Josh Faulks, is spitting chips: "A ham salad sandwich can't be advertised. This doesn't make sense!" Mate, understatement of the century. This isn't just a ban, it's a cultural assassination. The ham sandwich, with its butter-smeared bread, crisp lettuce, and a slab of piggy goodness, is as Aussie as a backyard cricket game or a cold Tooheys. But South Australia's Health Minister, Chris Picton, is out here playing Captain Kale, calling the AANA "scaremongers" who want to "force" junk food ads on kids. Oh, please, Chris, nobody's force-feeding Tim Tams via tram billboards! Kids are sneaking sausage rolls regardless, and your ban's just making sure they do it in the shadows, like some vegan prohibition era.

This is peak nanny-state lunacy, and it's a slap in the face to Australia's heart. Picture the scene: Adelaide's buses, once proudly flashing ads for local butchers slinging ham and snags, now sport sad posters for quinoa bowls and kombucha. It's cultural surrender, a grovel to globalist health Nazis who think Aussies can't be trusted with a meat. Nationalists, those "Australia First" legends who bleed for barbecues and beach shindigs, see this as "treason." Banning ham ads isn't just about obesity; it's about erasing the rituals that make us, us. What's next? Outlawing the Bunnings sausage sizzle because it's got too much mustard? Replacing Anzac biscuits with celery sticks? It's like South Australia's auditioning to be Sweden's boring cousin.

And the collateral damage is pure comedy gold. The AANA warns charities could get stung too: imagine a kids' cancer fundraiser with an ad showing a birthday cake. Banned! Why? Cake's the devil now. Or Tasting Australia, Adelaide's foodie crown jewel, trying to hype its festival. Want to show a charcuterie board with salami and brie? Sorry, mate, that's processed meat filth. Even non-food businesses are caught in the crossfire. Picture a Toyota ad with a family picnic, uh-oh, is that a ham sandwich in the background? Straight to the ad gulag. The ban's so broad it's like trying to kill a mozzie with a sledgehammer. Faulks begs for a "science-based" approach, like scoring foods by nutrients, but Picton's like, "Nah, all ham's evil, science be damned."

The Cancer Council SA's in on this, with Christine Morris preaching that ham ads cause cancer. Mate, that's the kind of logic that says a bacon sanger gives you lung disease by osmosis. Sure, processed meats aren't broccoli, but linking a tram ad to a tumour is like saying a VB ad causes cirrhosis. And the "incidental" loophole? Pure farce. If a ham slice in an ad is "generic" and "unbranded," it's fine. So, a blurry banger in a charity ad might pass, but a proud Aussie ham logo? Off to the sin bin. It's like hiring a food Stasi to police every pixel, ensuring Adelaide's trams are a flavour-free zone.

This ban's a middle finger to Australia's heart. Nationalists live for sovereignty, cultural, economic, and culinary. The ham sandwich isn't just lunch; it's a institution, a symbol of Aussie mateship, from school tuckshops to footy grand final spreads. Banning its ads is like telling diggers they can't fly the Southern Cross or sing Sweet Caroline at the pub. It's cultural vandalism, plain and simple, and South Australia's Labor government, those same blokes who love high migration to swing votes, are at it again, selling out Aussie identity for woke health points.

Imagine a nationalist rally outside Adelaide's parliament, mates in Akubras waving ham sangers like battle flags, chanting, "Save our snags! Down with Picton!" The Liberal Party, sniffing a "resurgence" (per news.com.au), could jump on this, turning the ham ban into a 2025 election wedge. Picture who-ever-now-leads, grill tongs in hand, vowing to "bring back the bacon" while Labor's Left defending celery sticks. It's a nationalist dream: reclaiming Australia's food heritage from bureaucrats who'd rather bow to global health fads than salute a meat pie. This ban's a gift to One Nation, who'd argue it's step one to a dystopia where we're all eating UN-approved lentils while Beijing's hogging the pork.

And the obesity excuse? What a crock! South Australia's 63% overweight adults and 35% kids aren't waddling to Maccas because of a ham ad on a bus. It's the $2 servo pies, 24/7 Uber Eats, and kids glued to screens instead of kicking a footy. Picton's acting like a tram ad is the root of all evil, but he's just dodging real fixes, like taxing sugar syrup or funding school sports. Nationalists would call this classic Labor: grandstand on a fake crisis while ignoring the working-class families who can't afford fresh produce but sure as hell love a cheap sanger.

Let's go full Mad Max on this. By 2026, Adelaide's public transport is a post-apocalyptic health utopia. Buses roll by with ads for kale chips and sparkling water, while underground "ham dens" thrive, shady joints where blokes trade black-market bacon rolls for crypto. Kids form gangs, smuggling salami sticks in their pencil cases, whispering, "Got the good stuff?" Tasting Australia's reduced to projecting "unbranded" carrot sticks on grain silos, while charities sneak cake pics into ads labelled "generic dessert item." Picton's got a "Sanger SWAT" team, raiding ad agencies for rogue prosciutto pixels, while the AANA's gone rogue, beaming illegal ham holograms over Adelaide Oval.

The kicker? Obesity's still climbing, because, shocker, ads don't make you fat; lifestyles do. Kids are now TikToking "banned sanger challenges," chomping ham rolls on livestreams to stick it to the man. The Cancer Council's preaching cancer-free dreams, but the only thing cured is South Australia's sense of fun. Local butchers, the backbone of Aussie small biz, are fuming as their ad budgets go to waste, while Picton's sipping oat milk lattes, patting himself on the back for "saving" kids. It's a clown show, and the ham sandwich is the martyr.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/diet/australian-association-of-national-advertisers-hits-out-at-south-australian-ban-on-unhealthy-food-and-drink-ads/news-story/d2124b2797671ce9eb44c96dffddba55

"Advertisements for ham salad sandwiches will soon be banned from public transportation in South Australia in a fresh push to roll back childhood and adult obesity.

The ban, set to come into effect from July 1, prohibits a range of junk food items from being displayed on Adelaide's buses, trains and trams, including processed meats like ham.

Chocolate, lollies, confectionary, desserts, ice creams, soft drinks and chips will all be banned from display alongside processed meats, with the measure designed to limit children's exposure to unhealthy food and drink advertising.

But the Australian Association of National Advertisers is up in arms about what it calls a "blanket ban".

"As it stands, this policy bans all processed meats, which means a simple ham salad sandwich can't be advertised." AANA CEO Josh Faulks said.

"This simply doesn't make sense and the government should be making evidence-based decisions, not blanket bans that don't align with nutritional science."

The peak body warns charities and businesses could be negatively impacted by the ban.

"The policy bans all advertising showing those banned food or drink items.

"For example, an ad celebrating the anniversary of a children's charity which depicts a child with a birthday cake would be banned," Mr Faulks said.

"The Tasting Australia event can no longer show images of charcuterie boards or pastries in their advertising.

"Under this policy, businesses that have nothing to do with the food or beverage industry will find advertising in South Australia harder."

The AANA has confirmed with NewsWire it opposes all advertising bans for food and beverages.

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If the ban comes into effect, the AANA wants the government to adopt what it calls a "science-based approach" by using nutrient profiling scoring criteria to determine which foods should be restricted.

Some 63 per cent of adults and 35 per cent of children across South Australia are overweight or obese, government figures show.

Health Minister Chris Picton said the AANA was "scaremongering" and "providing misinformation about this common sense policy".

"These lobbyists want to force the State Government to keep having junk food ads on our own buses amidst an obesity crisis," he told NewsWire.

"Evidence shows that South Australian children are bombarded by unhealthy food and drink advertising every day.

"Advertising of unhealthy food and drinks has long been recognised as having a harmful impact on the diets of children.

"The policy applies to government-owned Adelaide Metro buses, trains and trams.

"It is not up to advertising industry lobbyists to tell us what can be displayed on our public transport assets."

AANA claims that charcuterie boards on Tasting Australia ads could be banned are also false, NewsWire understands, because these items would appear as "incidental" and "unbranded" items.

Under the policy, if an ad features incidental food or drink items that are generic and unbranded, they are permitted to be advertised, even if the food or drink items featured are considered unhealthy.

The ban covers processed meats like ham.

The ban also holds the support of Preventative Health SA and the Cancer Council.

Cancer Council SA prevention and advocacy manager Christine Morris said unhealthy food and drink items were linked to cancer.

"We know that minimising unhealthy food and drink advertising can lead to better health outcomes for everyone," she said.

"Our research shows that forming the foundations of positive nutrition preferences in children is a big step in overall cancer prevention.

"We heartily welcome this ban as a positive move towards a healthier community."