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Should baby milk ads be banned?

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anonymous1985

Whilst not in favour of ANY bans at all, I would have thought alcohol and junk food advertising would pose potentially greater threats to a child's upbringing than formula. Will common sense EVER prevail, even just once. Pick any country you like, there are just too many idiots with too much say and too much time on their hands. If you ban the ad you might as well ban the product otherwise it's just stupid.

Reply 21

Jennybean

The Anthropologist

If you ban the ad you might as well ban the product otherwise it's just stupid.

No, I don't think that's quite true. Advertising has a very strong influence on many people's opinions otherwise why would they bother advertising at all? A product can be available without it being forced on the public's consciousness and like I said before the point of an advert is to make it seem like the best thing in the world, and superior to its competitors. It's not as harmful to just have formula on the shelves as it is to advertise it as being superior to breastmilk.

Reply 22

Sorani

Of course not, women need to know about formula milk because some of them need it.

The fanatic pro-breastfeeding groups that seem to be around don't ever actually seem to give a damn about circumstances, they just run around acting as if not breastfeeding your child is some sort of abuse which is beyond ridiculous.
There are women, particularly in poorer areas of the country, who have been so stressed that their milk has simply dried up, whose diet is so poor that their milk is pretty much worthless and, particularly in countries like the USA, women who work so hard and so often that they simply don't have the time to breastfeed.
Also, fact is, some women don't enjoy breast feeding at all and struggle to do it, when I was a baby I actually refused breast milk and had no choice but to be bottle fed. I'm not sickly or ill either.
If you could get rid of every one of these circumstances, then yes, push breast milk and ban formula milk advertising but until then I think it's important for women to know that they have the option of formula milk and they aren't horrible mothers for choosing it.

It's not as harmful to just have formula on the shelves as it is to advertise it as being superior to breastmilk.

When does this happen nowadays? All I ever hear is that formula is supposed to be used alongside breast milk from the formula companies themselves. I really don't think they're allowed, at least in the UK, to say that they're superior to breast milk.

Reply 23

Seoid

No company would ever get away with saying that formula milk was superior to breast milk, so I don't think that's an issue.

While I don't think formula ads should be banned, I do think that they should be closely regulated so that companies can't make claims about it that aren't true - I think they should have to adhere to the same standards as drug companies do when they advertise, in terms of accurately stating the benefits and hazards of formula in a clear and honest way.

The fact is, for a lot of mums and babies, formula is a necessity, not a luxury, so it's not like companies are foisting useless or dangerous products on an unsuspecting public. What mums need is information, not censorship, and banning ads almost makes it seem like formula is taboo - that it's so wrong it's not even mentioned on tv. Millions of women are not able to breastfeed for whatever reason and need to use formula, so why stop them from knowing about it?

If there is proper post-natal care for all mothers and plenty of clear information then there should be no problem - women should have the knowledge and support to make the right choice. The fact is that post natal care is ofen apalling and women are left with no idea what to do. Advertising is not the issue here really, it's the day to day support that mums get when they're deciding how best to feed their babies.

Reply 24

silverbolt

Segat1

boooooooooooooooooooooooring.

agreed, jeez haveyoursay is really scraping the bottom of the barrel with some of these threads

Reply 25

Georgiahoneybee

I completely agree that it should be the mother's choice.
I think it has been well stated in the media that breast milk is better for the child so obviously that should be enough of an incentive for mothers to at least try breast feeding.
But if they cannot breast feed, as is the case for some women then an alternative is needed. Those who need to use formula should not be punished or judged, or even those who choose to use formula. Ultimately, its their baby, its their choice.

Reply 26

Joric

Have Your Say

A coalition of charities is calling for a total ban on the advertising of formula milk for babies. Does baby milk put mothers off breastfeeding?

The National Childbirth Trust, Save The Children and Unicef blame adverts for many mothers abandoning breastfeeding before the recommended six months.

The charities have accused baby milk companies of getting around the advertising ban by using their follow-on milks which often contains the same logo.

Should there be a total ban on advertising formula milk? Is there too much pressure on mothers to breastfeed? Are you a mother? Did you breast or bottle feed your baby?

Click here to read the full story (on the BBC website)

It would be better to promote breast feeding.

Reply 27

annsmith

Yes It should be banned.

Reply 28

Purple

Its up to the mother what she wants to do, people want every advert banned these days. Cant people make decisions for themselves?

Reply 29

Sunofnight

Jennybean

but for those who have a choice, it is important that they understand the best decision they can make is to breastfeed. Like it or not there is a lot of evidence to suggest that not breastfeeding can have quite serious long term health implications and they might not affect every single individual but they are real and shouldn't be ignored.

For some mothers though the best decision is to formula feed, like it or not some mothers just hate the thought of it or have trouble with it in which case, if support doesn't work, formula is best.

While it is best for immunity and bonding, what long term serious implications are there for not breast feeding? I don't have asthma, diabetes or anything (apart from fainting sometimes) so how has not being breast fed affected me at all?

Reply 30

avalanche

Why is breast milk best anyway? Apart from the immunity, formula is based on breast milk. What proper evidence is there as a lot of assumtions that breast milk resulted in higher intelligence, less obesity and lower blood pressure have recently been proven wrong with larger studies. Therefore they are possibly just myths. So apart from the ear infection and odd cold or two more in formula fed babies there is probably no difference. Of course all these colds add up and this is extra expense for the NHS so they are going to want people breast feeding arn't they?

Reply 31

MaryKay

I don't know whether they should be banned because not all women can breast feed and it is a free market and women shouldn't be guilt tripped into doing it.

All I know is that when I have my babies I will be breast feeding them, and I can't wait :smile:

Reply 32

horrorboy

Oh bloody hell, the world is nuts it doesn't matter in the long term if you were breast fed or not, I think children watching TV, video games and eating junk food is more harmful. Lets ban the advertising of video games and all processed food if natural and organic food is best.

Reply 33

Jennybean

Sunofnight

For some mothers though the best decision is to formula feed, like it or not some mothers just hate the thought of it or have trouble with it in which case, if support doesn't work, formula is best.

I'm confused about what you mean here. Clearly if, for whatever reason, the mother can't breastfeed (and I include a psychological block in these reasons) then formula is best, because the only other alternative is to let the baby starve to death. Not much competition there! But in terms of comparing breastmilk and formula feeding, it's been shown pretty conclusively that breastfeeding is best for the health of both mother and baby.

Sunofnight

While it is best for immunity and bonding, what long term serious implications are there for not breast feeding? I don't have asthma, diabetes or anything (apart from fainting sometimes) so how has not being breast fed affected me at all?

Obviously it hasn't! Similarly I was bottlefed because my mum couldn't get her milk going and I fall ill much more rarely than either of my siblings, who were breastfed. But statistically speaking, there is a general trend that bottlefed babies are more susceptible to several long term health problems including (IIRC) diabetes and asthma, as you mentioned, other allergies, obesity and being generally more susceptible to communicable diseases. And contrary to what avalanche said, these trends haven't yet been conclusively shown to be of no concern to human medicine, unfortunately. The trouble is, immunity is such a complicated thing, we know that babies get passive immunity while they are still taking in mum's milk on a regular basis but it's the long term beneficial effects of getting human antibodies fed directly into your body that are hard to ascertain.

Reply 34

Angelil

horrorboy

Damn, if only I hadn't just given out my rep...

Reply 35

Dionysus

Bottle-feeding should be available as a solution for those who cannot breastfeed or have some urgent desire not to, it shouldn't be the normal course of action. To the people trivialising the matter: There is medical evidence that it DOES make a difference. It's certainly not the only thing that affects how a child grows up at all, but it is important.

Reply 36

horrorboy

There is medical evidence that it does not make a difference after the first year too, look at the BMJ there are studies which even suggest that breastfeeding results in stiffer arteries in adults. Breast is best for immunity but it is really hard to conclude that it makes a difference in the long term, its debatable. Most babies are only breast fed for a few weeks or months anyway then put onto formula which hardly makes a difference in the long term to not being breast fed at all.

Reply 37

mermania

Suggesting baby milk ads (or baby milk itself) should be banned is just ridiculous. I can't believe it has even been suggested.

I wasn't breastfed and I'm still a genius. There's nothing wrong with baby milk.

Reply 38

goodLife

mermania

Yea but according to research and many people you would have been healthier and be enjoyng life more now if you had been breast fed lol. I

I wasn't breast fed either so am wondering how much healthier/better i would be if I had of been :rolleyes:

Reply 39

Horatio Caine

I despise all these people changing everything. People should be allowed to do whatever the **** they want, I wasn't breastfed because my mum didn't want to, not because she saw an advert for baby milk and though "Oh, I'll try that instead". Times have changed and these stupid charity people should just accept not every mother wants to breastfeed. People have minds of their own.

If we banned such-and-such an advert because it stops people from using or purchasing an alternative method there wouldn't be any adverts on TV.

:mad: