I'm forwarding this on for Aussies who might be interested. I'm just getting started on my letter and would urge others to consider writing their own and passing this on.
Karleen Gribble
Australia

Urgent: we need YOU to help get formula marketing restrictions into our national breastfeeding strategy

 

Our Federal Health Minister has shown herself to be quite supportive of breastfeeding. One of the things that she has asked for is the development of a National Breastfeeding Strategy. She's put pressure on her department (the Department of Health and Aging) to have something together very quickly to take to the State Health Ministers for approval in the next month or so.

 

Unfortunately the steering committee working on the strategy is a general health one rather than one which contains individuals with specific expertise in infant feeding. Unfortunately, it also seems that it is perceived that promoting breastfeeding is a completely separate issue from protecting breastfeeding women from the unethical marketing of infant formula. It is likely that unless we act that the breastfeeding strategy will consist of:

  a.. Monitoring breastfeeding rates (good) 
  b.. Breastfeeding promotion posters or something similar (pathetic- has anyone watched "Hollowmen" episode on the plan to reduce childhood obesity?) 
  c.. Nothing on the restriction of marketing of infant formula (Tragic~!)
 

This strategy is as good a chance as we have had for decades to get something happening with restricting the marketing of infant formula. And we really need to do something, manufacturers are actually stepping up their marketing activities and the use of formula in Australia is increasing. Our breastfeeding rates have stalled and more and more mothers are mixed feeding, the last stats we have (between 1995 and 2001), showed a 60% increase in formula use in mothers who were also breastfeeding. It's likely that usage has increased even further since then, And why wouldn't parents use formula when it is advertised as helping the immune system and promoting brain development (intelligence) and eye development? There is no doubt that many parents think that formula is a health food. We have had more than a decade of the failure of the MAIF agreement in preventing unethical marketing. If we don't act now we might not have another opportunity to act for decades. ABA and other organizations have been doing the up front talk with the representatives of the Department of Health and not getting very far- it is time to mobilize a grass roots movement- and this is where you come in. We can bypass the bureaucrats and the steering committee and get the ear of the Federal Health Minister if enough letters gets sent to her via local federal MPs and senators. We can sensitise the State Health Ministers and make them aware of this issue via letters sent through our local state MPs so that when they meet with the health minister they are aware of the issue. 

 

Are you prepared to take up the challenge???? You can make a difference. As few as 100 letters in the system will ensure that the minister knows that this is a big deal..maybe we can manage 10 times as many! 

 

Letters need to go to three different places. 

1)      Your local Federal MP- Contact details can be found at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memlist.pdf

 

2)      Your Federal Senators (for the state you live in)- Contact details at  http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/contacts/los.pdf

 

3)      Your local State MP- Contact details at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/members.nsf/V3Home

 

 

This must happen quickly! In the next week or so, otherwise it will be too late and we will have a breastfeeding strategy that will help mothers and babies very little. 

 

It is preferable to send snail mail letters but email can be used too so long as you include your contact details and ensure that you only have one address in the "to" and "cc" box (multiple addresses will likely result in the email being deleted without being read). If you only have time to send one letter the most important letter is the one to your local Federal MP.

 

What your letters need to say 

Ask your Federal MP and senators to contact the Federal Health Minister on your behalf asking her to ensure that the National Breastfeeding Strategy contains plans to legislate the complete WHO Code on the marketing of infant formula, bottles and teats. Write to your State MP and ask him/her the same but with the State Health Minister in mind. You don't need to include all the points below in your letter, your letter can be as simple as simply asking the question in the first sentence of your paragraph.  You do need to use your own words to express the ideas: form letters do not attract the same attention as individual ones.

 

Potential points to include in your letters:

  a.. The use of infant formula is a significant cost to the Australian economy in increased health care costs (due to hospitalizations, Drs visits, PBS); decreased productivity due (due to lost workdays to care for sick children)- pick your favourite ill effect of formula feeding to cite here if you like eg 4-5x more likely to be hospitalized, 8x more likely to be sick enough with gastro to need to see a Dr, 3-7 IQ points lost, 2x risk of dying of sids, 2.5x more likely to be abused or neglected, mothers more likely to develop breast/ovarian cancers, hip fracture, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, heart attack. 
  b.. There is no point putting efforts into promoting breastfeeding and not doing anything to curtail the marketing of infant formula. It has been shown time and again around the world that breastfeeding cannot compete with the aggressive marketing of infant formula. Government cannot provide the marketing budgets to counter the unregulated marketing of infant formula companies.   
  c.. Nearly 90% of women start breastfeeding in Australia but more than 90% also use formula in the first 6 months of their child's life. Over the last decade or so more, overall breastfeeding rates have stalled, the rates of mixed feeding where children are breast and formula fed have increased dramatically- we have a problem. 
  d.. Many parents believe that formula is a safe and healthy food for their child: how can they not when advertising and labeling claims that ingredients in the formulas increase intelligence, support the immune system and that they help children "achieve their potential" (despite study after study finding that formula feeding increases the risk of illness, retards the development of the immune system, decreases IQ and visual acuity in children). One company claims that their formulas are "a perfect mix of science and love." The ACCC and FSANZ have not been able to act to prevent these claims. How are parents supposed to know that feeding their infant formula (if they don't absolutely need to) is bad for their baby, when they are bombarded with such advertising claims? 
  e.. A voluntary industry agreement called MAIF is supposed to regulate the marketing of infant formula but the MAIF agreement is both inadequate (does not cover retail marketing or toddler formula marketing) and is not enforced- their last "annual report" covered 3 years and contained not a single breach (send in examples of marketing you have or copies of letters you have received back from APMAIF saying that marketing materials were not in breach of MAIF if you have any). Parents are bombarded with infant formula, bottle and teat marketing everywhere. On television, in magazines, in supermarkets and chemists, at baby shows, in advertising brochures and in store promotions.  Formula samples are freely given to parents by health professionals and in sample bags. Companies freely promote their brands and distribute "educational materials," which contain false and misleading information, to parents. They solicit contact with parents and invite them to call their helplines for infant feeding (including breastfeeding) advice and to join their online mums clubs. 
  f.. Research has shown that parents do not distinguish between toddler and infant and follow on formulas in advertising. Toddler formula is packaged almost identically to infant formula and the ingredients highlighted in toddler formula advertising as benefiting health and development are highlighted in the packaging of infant and follow on formulas. Toddler formula advertising acts as defacto infant and follow on formula advertising. Self regulation of advertising did not work with the tobacco industry, nor has it worked anywhere in the world with the infant formula industry- that is why legislation is required. 
  g.. Australia was an original signatory to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the WHO Code) and has also signed onto every subsequent related World Health Assembly. The WHO Code is the MINIMUM standard of regulation required to prevent the unethical marketing of infant formula, bottles and teats. When Australia agreed with the WHA resolutions that constitute the Code they stated their support for these measures. Our government there has a moral responsibility to ensure that the Code is implemented in Australia. 
  h.. Regulation to industry, limiting them to marketing that is the minimum ethical standard, will cost government little to nothing but would be of huge benefit to breastfeeding rates. Removal of infant formula manufacturers from their "parent education" activities will leave infant feeding education with health professionals where it belongs. 
  i.. Remind your MP that the senate inquiry into the "benefits of breastfeeding," which involved extensive consultation with infant feeding experts and the general public, recommended that action be taken to institute the WHO Code. 
  j.. Beg your MP/Senator to ensure that the regulation of infant formula is within the National Strategy on Breastfeeding.
 

 

You might also like to include your favourite idea on what could be done to improve breastfeeding rates and decrease the use of formula. Each individual issue brought up in letters will require a response from the relevant health department. The amount of work caused by such letters gives the Ministers an indication of the size of community concern. 

 

If you are a parent, describe what you have seen amongst your peers who view formula feeding as innocuous. If you are a health professional, state this and provide your professional opinion on the affect of formula, bottle and teat marketing.

 

Please pass on this email to any who you believe will be interested in this issue; family, friends, online communities. Maybe some of your friends might be too busy to write a letter but if you were to write something short for them they would be happy to put their name to the letter and send it on. This is not a campaign being organized by any organization but something started by concerned individuals. The more people who are aware the better the chance we have of real change in Australia. 

  

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