The Greens have called for junk food and alcohol companies to pay an extra tax on their advertising costs to raise money for a health promotion fund.

Under the proposed laws, companies could choose to include health information in their advertisements or pay a 1.5 per cent levy on advertising costs.

Greens leader Bob Brown says the levy would be similar to one which has applied in France since 2004.

"Australia should not allow junk food and alcohol companies to make billions at the expense of the health and well-being of Australians," he said.

"The alcohol industry spends $109 million on advertising per year while fast food companies are among the top 50 advertisers in Australia, spending around $165 million on advertising per year."

Public health specialist Dr Richard di Natale, who will stand for the Greens in the Senate, said the levy could raise about $4 million that would be used for health information programs.

"Alcohol use in Australia costs $15.3 billion and obesity costs are estimated to be around $58.2 billion," he said.

"[The levy] would be used to provide health information to consumers through social marketing campaigns."

The Greens say the levy could also be used to replace alcohol or junk food sponsorship in community sports clubs.