Forwarded Message
<http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/home.asp>
 SMA convicted of illegally advertising baby milk

On 31 July 2003 at Birmingham District Magistrates Court, SMA Nutrition's
parent company Wyeth was found guilty of illegally advertising SMA baby milk
in UK parenting magazines.

Fining Wyeth/SMA £26,000 plus £34,808 costs, the judge concluded that "the
defendants have deliberately 'crossed the line' in an effort to advertise
direct to a vulnerable section of society. "This is a cynical and deliberate
breach of the regulations." He found that Wyeth/SMA had not exercised due
diligence and that their Director had been "extra-ordinarily evasive
throughout his cross-examination".

During the case, Wyeth/SMA challenged the UK Government's right to regulate
the marketing of artificial baby milks. The case effectively outlaws similar
advertisements by the other manufacturers active in the UK, whose promotions
were also examined by the court.

Links:
Baby Milk Action <http://www.babymilkaction.org/>
SMA Nutrition's response <http://www.smanutrition.co.uk/news/news.htm>
UK legislation on artificial baby milk marketing
<http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/uklaw.asp>
I was in court yesterday for the judgement.  Interesting, and good news --
the ads from the companies had been pushing the boundaries of our national
law, and now they have been restricted.   It was heartening that the judge
'got it'.
Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter,
BfN, The Breastfeeding Network
http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/




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