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Baby milk advertising - you can help to stop it with an email
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From: "UOL" <mikebrady at babymilkaction.org>

Your message can help to introduce legislation in the European
Union to ban the advertising and promotion of baby milks, in ac-
cordance with World Health Assembly standards. If you live out-
side the European Union, please do still send a message. If the
baby food industry succeeds in its lobbying to be allowed to put
health claims on product labels, this may well be exported to
your country soon, so undermining breastfeeding. Other countries
also look to the European Union when introducing their own leg-
islation.

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EU Commission fails mothers and babies

Frustrated health worker bodies call for action at the European
Union this week to stop baby milk advertising

http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press7march05.html

The baby food industry is advertising breastmilk substitutes
with virtual impunity in the UK as enforcement bodies (Ofcom,
Advertising Standards Authority, Trading Standards) point to
weaknesses in the law. Complaints about advertising of formula
on television and radio and in the press are generally dismissed
out of hand as the government has failed to fully implement the
International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes,
nearly 25 years after it was adopted by the World Health Assem-
bly.

Although the government promised action to implement the Code
after a United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child re-
port in 2003, nothing has yet been done to improve marketing
controls. Public Health Minister, Melanie Johnson MP, has said
the government is pursuing changes to an EU directive being re-
vised this week. The present draft will do little to strengthen
the hand of the enforcement authorities and if approved un-
changed may force a confrontation with Brussels if the govern-
ment is to act unilaterally to protect UK infants and mothers
from aggressive marketing. Government Minister, Dr. Stephen
Ladyman, assured a meeting of health experts at the House of
Commons on 21 February 2005 that he will investigate what steps
can be taken when Britain holds the EU presidency later this
year and what action can be taken if changes cannot be won at EU
level.

 In pushing ahead with proposals that so clearly favour the infant feeding
industry the
European Commission is ignoring these concerns and the over-
whelming scientific evidence that demonstrates the risks of ar-
tificial infant feeding and the importance of exclusive breast-
feeding. The proposals are also in conflict with the Commis-
sion¹s own advisors and with other Commission initiatives which
are designed to tackle the obesity epidemic that is sweeping
across Europe. The World Health Organisation (WHO)¹s recently
published seven-year study shows that babies exclusively breast-
fed for six months are healthier and leaner than artificially
fed babies."

 Companies are increasingly claiming formulas boost intelligence and pro-
tect against infection, claims which have dubious scientific
bases and imply the formulas are equivalent or superior to
breastfeeding.

 Until the government takes action to hold the companies to account the
millions it invests in breastfeeding promotion is money wasted,
because the baby food companies can and do outspend it many
times over.

Notes for Editors
Scientific evidence has consistently demonstrated that artifi-
cial feeding increases mortality rates, increases rates for ill-
nesses such as infectious diseases, chronic diseases and auto-
immune diseases, offers less than optimal development and
growth, lowers cognitive and visual development and increases
the risk of obesity.

The draft EU Directive permits the promotion of breastmilk sub-
stitutes and legitimizes new claims on labels which will mislead
parents and undermine breastfeeding. They will permit new prod-
ucts to be marketed with health claims without first being
proved safe or of benefit. Baby Milk Action¹s position is that
if an ingredient has undisputed health benefits proven by inde-
pendent research, it ought to be a legally required ingredient
in all formulas. Health claims are deceptive, intended to create
a perceived advantage and to idealize, so undermining breast-
feeding.
--
Mike Brady
Campaigns and Networking Coordinator Baby Milk Action
Visit our website http://www.babymilkaction.org/

 IBFAN - http://www.ibfan.org/