Well that's it for Wallace And Gromit then.

john, newport, south wales

I live in Hong Kong so to me the Cantonese expression 'cheesy' - meaning 'crazy' - seems most appropriate. Mind you I can't write the Chinese characters. Still that's the right sound. Blair - cheesy!

Phil, Hong Kong,

Cheese is a highly nutritious product, high in calcium and protein. Whilst it isn't good to eat very high quantities of it, that can be said of most foods.
I remember being told at school that if you eat cheese and tomato sandwiches made with margerine, you will get every vitamin and mineral that you need, and fibre from the tomatoes.

Michael Cawood, Wrexham, Wales, UK

I agree with Joe of Ipswich. There should be a complete ban on persuasive advertising to young children.Training young minds to be retail fodder is obscene and is the cause of many of todays social problems.

jerym eedy, caerphilly, U.K.

While HM has helped the English Speaking world and visited the USA there have been Red Revolution ploys in UK.
The Reds who murdered the Russian Royal Family and caused guilotine in France and helped the crushing of Protestant regions in 2ww have tried in UK and gaining with Brown following Blair.
Strong vides from Turkey, China, Iran, Iraq all consolidate the actions by Town against Gown in UK and the decay of our wealth creating Factory system for the Capital Intesive Oil, Farming and loss of manpower leadership in our N Europe.
There was a try at a Red revolution in the Wilson government of 1968 and now while the Cat's away the red mice play again.
It is not nice and murder is murder and our stregthening must become reality before the 5 commandments or no commandement take their crude despotic actions.
Israel is foundered again so a lot of the hatred of blues and blondes is less but have we found the Great Creator and the Good Human Mind that seems lost in many Bosons.

DR MIBarton, Oxford, UK

I thought that this was a joke when I saw the headline.

Banning adverts for cheese. Unbelievable.

Is their any aspect of British life that isn't micromanaged by the government?

I thank God again and again that I no longer live in Britain.

Simon Allen, Melbourne, Australia

I totally agree - don't let them eat cheese give them a bottle of coke and a mars bar instead.(end sarcasm)

Presumably if cheese ads are banned then products like "dunkers" and "cheese squares" will finally admit to not being cheese.

pbhj, Newport,

All advertising to children should be banned encouraging wants in children who by definition have no means of income is irresponsible and a real pain as a parent.

Advertisement uses Psychology to encourage pester power not one commercial break goes by with out my 7 year old asking for a product advertised.

Cheese is not the issue irresponsible advertising is!!!

Joe T, Ipswich,

"I personally have seen the devastation caused by cheese" (John, N Ireland).

Oh my God, that's priceless. Thank you!

'Everything in moderation' seems to work fine for all us non-pudgemeisters. Only the most basic understanding of human biology required! Although I must say, I've never seen a TV advert for decent cheese so not sure how this will have much of an effect on the industry outside Kraft etc.

Adam Neilson, Birmingham,

"I personally have seen the devastation caused by cheese" (John, N Ireland).

Oh my God, that's priceless. Thank you!

'Everything in moderation' seems to work fine for all us non-pudgemeisters. Only the most basic understanding of human biology required! Although I must say, I've never seen a TV advert for decent cheese so not sure how this will have much of an effect on the industry outside Kraft etc.

Adam Neilson, Birmingham,

This edict has all the crazy logic of the statitician marksman who repeatedly misses a target on all sides and then claims 100% hits because 'the average is a bullseye'. Junk food is high in salt and fat; so is cheese therefore junk food is cheese. Rugby is violent and physical; so is mugging. Therefore etc. The bananas who made this decision should be out of a job: not least because the French will yet again be convulsing with hysterical laughter at our foolishness. We need people to run this country. Not flesh computers.

Roddy Campbell , Christchurch,

I'm appalled at the support shown for the support shown here for cheese. I personally have seen the devastation caused by cheese and could enumerate so many examples. I have seen countless poor innocent children mutilated by it, transmogrified into vile pudgemonsters...
You people who condone this execrable waste of TV sicken me.

John, Newry, N. Ireland

RE: Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS, London, UK

Just a vet! But he had to work hard for those letters, so let him use them whether appropriate or not if they make him feel good. Personally, I will stick to the cheese!

Charles, Charlottesville,

In a sensible country the Food standards agency bosses would be out of a job this morning for displaying such stupidity. If they had stopped at banning ads for process stuff like strings and "dipper products" it would be fine.

Tim L, guelph, canada

It's the usual theatre of the absurd, isn't it? I do hope that other staples get the heave-ho as well, given their unacceptably high levels of 'undesirable' compounds (allegedly):
bacon, eggs, cream, coffee, chocolate, cakes, biscuits, ice cream, carbonated drinks, etc.

Nev, Rudkøbing, Denmark

Amazing - cheese adverts to be banned during screening of childrens programmes such as The Simpsons; on which they will watch Homer stuff himself with all manner of foods to a huge excess. They can also hear Bart and Lisa extol the virtues of Armor Hot Dogs in song. But that's OK - it's only TV after all.
I thought I'd stumbled across a joke when I read the Sunday Times News Review Blog Spot yesterday.
How about these as general guidelines for raising children:
Given them safe places to play and allow them plenty of activity thrown in, give them meals of good nutrition and don't forgot some comfort food like cheese (or jam) sandwiches. Most importantly, throw out the Food Police Regulations and allow for that most important element of life - nutrition through enjoyment of good food.

Frances McCarthy, Cork, Ireland

Cheese is the biggest supplier of calcium in our diet by a huge margin. Therefore banning cheese is ignorant and illogical.

Peter, Dorset, England

Ben Gunn would be horrified!

Ron Wilcox, Pai, Thailand

RE: Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS, London, UK
At first I thought this was something from Monty Python responding. God help me I think this person is serious. Please prove me wrong. Maybe there is a cheddar 666?

Rick Z.

Rick Z., Harrogate, uk

Once again this controlling goverment is now telling us what to eat . We would have been better off under Stalin at least people know they had no say on anything Here we have a vote that means nothing and now we can't eat cheese and cows somehow have to pruduce soya milk HOW!!! I can see in the future under this goverment we will be given pills not food all people will be 5'4" with blues eyes and blond hair. Frightening is'nt it but believe me under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown it will happen. LET US HAVE OUR CHEESE AND EAT IT

chrid, staines, middlesex

With CCTV everywhere, spy planes monitoring thermal images of domiciles and now a proposed regulation/ban on cheese advertising, and then God knows what else, I am beginnig to wonder if George Orwell isn't rolling over in his grave laughing his rear end off screaming "I TOLD YOU SO !!!". Our respective governments are constantly and consistently compiling a massive database which can oversee our every move. Historically this kind of governing has lead to Revolution - it may soon do so again!!!
He who controls the present, controls the future!
Under the premise of protecting us, we are all slowly being squeezed into that cage with the perverbial rat gnawing at us.
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING - so beware of who we put in power to represent us.

Ian, Pine Mountain Club, Ca. USA

Where is freedom if governments decide what we have to eat or not eat. I hope that next elections will be won by Tories and also in Italy by center-right coalition so that we will be able to eat stilton and gorgonzola to our full satisfaction.

Roberto Castellano, Salsomaggiore, Italy

"children’s TV shows such as The Simpsons."

Ever watched the Simpsons?

LB, Southport,

And Labour wonder why they just got another kicking at elction time. Please please please can we have a general election so we can finally get rid of these idiots?

Oh, and for the bloke with all the letters; mine are BEng PGCE MSc. Such things do not give you the right to tell others what to eat, drink or do.

A G Melville, Auchterarder, UK

Surely this article appeared on 1st April, didn't it?

Pat Thornton, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

What is going on in England? I am continually horrified by what I read in the Times; thank goodness the comments show that England hasn’t entirely lost it’s common sense (soya comments excluded). Cheese is a staple part of my vegetarian diet and without it I would be loosing an important protein intake. Apart from it’s nutritional value however, it is absolutely delicious. Take away everything which makes eating enjoyable and you will only encourage neurousis and binging. A cheese sandwich a day at school never did me any harm and kept me away from the chips counter. But as someone else said, I too was in the fields, up trees, running, dancing, cycling throughout my childhood.
More money for sports in schools, less talk about saturated fats and salts.

english girl, munich, germany

Once again, we have an elected government believing they know what is best for its citizens. Now we are regulating cheese adverts. Where does this stop? Free will is under siege from democracies. The issues go beyond tobacco, cheese, liquor, etc. It is the attitude that you the citizen are too stupid to make a judgement so the government must do it for you.

Do these same officials know what we are under siege from terrorists while they attempt to save us from cheese?

Time to clean out the sewers in the next election.

Tom, Hong Kong , SAR China

It is absolute anti liberal rubbish to ban cheese adverts. But to be principal in this question one must also oppose the ban on alcohol and tobacco advertisments.
The government should leave people along; enough of the nanny-state. People are free to turn off the telly.

William Hagerup, London,

Why don't you just ban television for 20 of the 24 hours in a day?
This will:
1) Raise the quality of programming WAY up, due to the limited time availability and,
2) Encourage people go outside and be active. Thus allowing them to be able to eat more cheese.

Problem solved. You're welcome.

Michael Overy, Kelowna, B.C., Canada

This is ridiculous! Cheese may be fattening, but it also has calcium and protein, and is good for you if eaten within moderation. If we want to encourage "healthy advertising", we need to ban junk food ads such as McDonalds, crisps, chocolate etc!

AC, London, UK

Somebody here (with a lot of letters after their name) said that the dairy industry should stop promoting cheese and concentrate on marketing alternative healthy soya products!
Have they completely missed the point of the DAIRY industry......? Cows do not produce soya milk in case you were wondering where it came from....

My Granny is 87, weighs about 8stone and has a cheddar sandwich every day, with SLICES of butter in and she has smoked since she was 13.
More cheese please! (but less cheese strings and fake cheese flavoured dips thankyou)

Lindsay, Bristol,

The old adage "a little of what you fancy does you good"
is a yardstick of common sense to apply to all consumerables. For those with osteoporosis, calcium is a life saver.
Political correctness gone mad.

Annette Phillips Nicolls, Warminster, UK

As the telly commercial in the States said,"I hanker for a hunk of, a piece or slice, or chunk of - I hanker for a hunk of CHEESE!"

Tina, daytona beach, florida, U.S.of A.

Unhealthy food can be eaten if in moderate amounts and how did we come to the conclusion that media adverts encourage children to eat more junk? Surely its the parents. I think there should be more adverts about vegetables on kids TV channels because I love my veg!

Sarah, ESSEX, UK

Another example of the nanny state which we have become, thanks to Mr Blair.

Seymour, Belfast,

Water is salt, fat, calorie and everything else, free. Unfortunately, if you drink to much of it, it will kill you. Can we expect to have adverts for water banned, followed by restrictions on use? By all means reduce unnecessary additives in our food, but a ban on cheese advertising.....do me a favour.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

So presumably Wallace and Gromit get an 18 certificate because Wensleydale is central to the plot, and all our children have to watch Brokeback Mountain instead...

Christopher Jordan, Oxford,

I eat cheese every day and I am not obese. Banning adverts is just cheaper than paying for more P.E. lessons in schools and providing children with safe areas to play out. Also, if children don't eat cheese they might not consume enough calcium and this could result in more osteoperosis in the future.

Grace, Manchester,

I am in agreement with so many who have said that moderation (self-control) accompanied by some exercise (up and moving, please) is the way that folks keep healthy, and not by whether or not they eat cheese......I'm very fond of my Stilton and cheddar (imported from Britain) that I eat with some degree of regularity. As children, fruit and cheese were always available to us as snacks and it's hard to beat an apple and some sharp cheese.

By the way, I await with great interest the dairy Industry's refocusing on '....the marketing and production of socially and environmentally responsible products such as soya products." I can just hear the dairymen I know saying to their guests, "No, no, we don't milk any more.......just keep the cows as pets. One chunk or two of tofu?"

Marcia Breedlove, Slaton, Texas, USA

Remember the Monty Python line from LIFE OF BRIAN..."Blessed are the cheesemakers"?

Having abandoned any hope of being blessed as one of the "peacemakers" (see Iraq), Tony Blair et. al. have now turned on the dairy industry looking for the ubiquitous "cheeses of mass destruction".

Perhaps a generation of children stuck behind computers surfing the net or playing on their Game Boys are more to blame for obese and overweight children. A number of recent studies in Canada have linked obesity in children with a lack of physical activity, especially in school. The education ministry in Ontario is mandating higher percentages of school time be devoted to physical activity. Today, children need a higher degree of physical activity in their daily lives in concert with a balanced diet -- that includes eating the odd bit of cheese.

Patrick Legris, Toronto, Canada

This is a blatant political decision to shape the political future of our children ... to prevent them becoming a new generation of "cheese-eating surrender monkeys of Yurp".

MH, Llanelli, Cymru

To... Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS, London, UK

Might it not be better to target the parent(s), if as you say, "eating habits are largely established in childhood," along with perhaps, a restriction of what is watched and when.

pondlife, Evian, France

Nothing on God's earth will stop me eating cheese. My father was a farmer and I was always available for tasting when the sample plug was taken to test for ripeness. Decent cheese was a fairly expensive item in those days and was not treated as "cheap fodder" and Dad would have been truly appalled at cheese strings etc. You can still get the good cheese now at a price but I think it is a price worth paying. So bring on the Gloucester, Wensleydale and Red Leicester - give your taste buds a treat. PS my cholesterol is 2.4 - just thought I'd mention it.

Joy, Wiltshire,

From what I've seen,the world would be better off banning children's television and leaving cheese alone.

ron, toronto,

This is Labour's legacy in a nutshell. Dumb and foolish people with the power to control the rest of us.

You always know you are dealing with idiots when they turn out to be using numeric "formulas" in situations where personal judgement is required.

jon livesey, Sunnyvale, CA/US

The Simpsons is not a children's program.

Ashleigh, St. Paul, MN

The public are rightly cheesed off by all these self appointed watch dogs infringing in our freedom of choice. We are all aware of the fact that a little of what you fancy is nice. By the way some people are prepared to have a shorter life eating what they like and who are we to judge and criticise them!

Wing, Poole, UK

Cheese may bring millions of pounds to a small proportion of businesses, but the public health care costs of diets high in saturated fats and salts are borne by every tax payer. The human costs are borne by the sufferers of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and all the other degenerative diseases for which these diets incur increased risks. And, of course, by their families. Food companies are well aware that eating habits are largely established in childhood, which is why they target programs such as ‘The Simpsons’ in their advertising campaigns. It is morally obscene to attempt to seduce young children into a lifetime of eating foods associated with increased risks of debilitating and potentially fatal illnesses, for the sake of the profit of a few. Instead of whining about restrictions on advertising to children, the dairy industry ought to refocus on the marketing and production of socially and environmentally responsible products such as soya products.

Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS, London, UK

"Demonisation" of cheese by banning advertisements on TV is totally uncalled for.While cheese has 50% fat, butter is almost 100% fat so what is the message the authorities wish to convey. Both in food and drink, the key word is moderation . There are many more products that being advertised on TV which have higher health risk that cheese. In fact cheese spreads are better than butter in terms of calorie content.

M.M.GURBAXANI, Bangalore, India

I saw the Monty Python Cheese Shop sketch, and I am convinced cheese promotes violence - especially among comic actors - so ban it at once!

ScottQ, Boise, USA

Good god! Small children can't go out and buy their own cheese can they, shouldn't the blame for kids being fat be directed at their uneducated gluttonous parents?

Jo, Southend on Sea,

I am speechless. I suppose we can expect a health stealth tax now on food stuffs this Government thinks we shouldn't be eating. Crikey, when I was young I ate like the proverbiaI pig but I was also up trees, on my bike, in the river, covered in mud and grass. As everyone above points out it's only an excess that causes the problem, and then that is only really an issue if you spend all day sitting about. The simple solution to this issue is ...USE YOUR VOTE.

Tony, Compton, Berkshire

Lets face it, the wonderful industry of cheese is being lambasted due to processed food companies parading themselves of cheese manufacturers to appeal to the younger generations. What is required is come proper education so that our younger generation can tell the difference between a processed food and a good hearty stilton.

Nicholas Huggett, London,

Well I think that there should be some balance here. Of course cheese is not harmful for you but I think that the products that are being pushed on kids are not the Cheddars and Stiltons etc but rather processed goods such as cheese string and the like.

Sadly it isnt really made clear in the article but if that is the case then I am all in favour of banning the promotion of such rubbish.

Nick Mole, London,

I feel sade for our childrens and really concerned about which kind of food we will propose to them tomorrow under the wonderfull excuses of "health". Asepticized,without flavour and taste and without any nutritional interest probably...
As we say in french "l'excès est mauvais en tout"
It is not cheese, sugar, salt or fat that should be point out as responsable but all of us and our bad habit. If our childrens were outside practicing some sort of sport instead of watching "Advertising " we will not be here to discuss about what is healty or not and acceptable or not and they could enjoy theyr fat cheese full of calcium without bad conscience!

cabot, Toulouse, France

This is so silly, so all the dairy needed for a healthy children's diet
will be banned too will it ? Full fat milk is a must for young children ,
butter is not bad for you , neither is cheese or many of our other foods.
ONLY EXCESS of anyhting is bad for us.
I am sick to death of the food dictators putting emphasis in
the wrong place.
Excess is what they should be blaming, I E Greed !!!!

Maggie Millington, Brittany, France