Pat has asked if there is any legal recourse in the US regarding infant formula advertising. There are some things that we could do in that arena. First is to contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a complaint at www.FTC.gov every time you see a false and misleading formula ad. The FTC regulates advertising. NABA and the Cornucopia Institute have filed a petition with the FTC to address the issue of the false and deceptive advertising of DHA in infant formula. Any entity can petition the FTC. If you belong to an organization interested in doing this you can use the petition we filed as a model. It can be found at www.cornucopia.org. You can contact your federal legislators and ask that they file legislation to curb the deceptive advertising and also ask if they would consider holding congressional hearings on the issue. Some people have considered a class action law suit by families whose infants have suffered side effects from infant formulas.


Recruiting mothers to market formula is a very effective way to override science. People know they are being exposed to advertising when a company advertises its products. However when other mothers extol the wonders of a product it now sounds like friendly advice. Research has shown that people often give less weight to or or simply ignore the implications of evidence-based or scientific information given to them in the presence of the anecdotal comments of others whom they identify with. These infant formula home parties also give away free things which is a powerful enticement to use the product. The concept of "free" is another powerful motivator. Look at what "free" food does to nurses when formula salespeople come on the unit!


Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome