A Weak Formula for Legislation: How loopholes in the law are putting babies at risk

The United Kingdom has a law that is intended to protect parents from the promotion of formula milk since this undermines breastfeeding as the healthiest way to feed a baby. However, the law is not working because parents say they are seeing adverts for infant formula. Companies’ promotional activities have become cleverer and more aggressive since the law was adopted. By failing to honour its commitment to implement the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, the Government is putting mothers’ and children’s health at risk.

This collaborative report on the behalf of Save the Children, UNICEF, and the National Childbirth Trust calls on the British government to close the loopholes that allow companies to advertise infant formulas through their follow-on formulas and to ensure that companies’ names and logos are subject to the same restrictions as the names and logos of specific product brands.