Balancing the right to health and commercial speech: the approach of Argentina's Supreme Court.

This article focuses on the legal and human rights framework supporting the regulation and potential ban of marketing ultra-processed food products in Argentina to protect public health and fulfill human rights obligations. Drawing on the 2015 Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina ruling in the Nobleza Piccardo case, which upheld a total ban on tobacco advertising as constitutional to safeguard the right to health, the article argues that similar proportionality tests and legal reasoning can justify restricting ultra-processed food product marketing. It highlights that such marketing disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, contributes to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and does not provide consumers with adequate information, thus supporting the legitimacy of advertising bans. The article concludes that a complete ban on ultra-processed food product advertising would be constitutionally valid in Argentina and consistent with international human rights obligations to promote healthy environments and prevent NCDs.