Unicef lauds SC for lifting baby milk ad ban

While other breastfeeding advocates are up in arms over the lifting of the government ban on powdered baby milk ads, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said the Supreme Court ruling is a “significant victory.”

“With this (SC) judgment, infant formula manufacturers will be prevented from making false or exaggerated health claims about their products, and all advertising and marketing practices will be strictly regulated by a vastly strengthened Inter Agency Committee (IAC) that monitors the Milk Code,” Unicef said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the petition of milk companies to stop the Department of Health (DOH) from enforcing a ban on the promotion and advertising of breast milk substitutes.

The SC said they were not convinced that allowing the promotion of breast milk substitutes could lead to “false advertising.”

The high tribunal also pointed out that promotion and advertisements are part of commercial speech and should be protected.

Breastfeeding advocates, however, slammed the decision and announced plans to elevate the issue before the UN body.

The Save Babies Coalition said the SC violated the rights of parents to informed choice and the infants’ rights to health when it lifted the ban on advertisements on powdered baby milk products.

But Unicef said the high tribunal still upholds the authority of the DOH to regulate milk advertisements.

“This signals an end to the unethical advertising claims that infant formulas increase intelligence – a strategy that has been particularly successful in undermining efforts to promote breastfeeding,” Unicef said.

Unicef noted the SC made several restrictions in infant milk formula advertising, such as banning promotional tactics that include donation of products, promotions and marketing in the guise of seminars for health workers, giving of gifts to health workers and use of health care facilities for promotions.

Unicef said all infant formula labeling would also have to comply with stringent new guidelines meant to help parents understand that powdered milk substitutes for breast milk are not sterile and could contain “pathogenic micro-organisms.”

“Now the crucial work of educating families and communities about the superior benefits of breastfeeding can proceed without having to compete with enticing billion-peso marketing schemes based on false health claims,” the Unicef said.