Here is my letter.
Hon.Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary
Department of Health & Human Services
200 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
November 24, 2003
Dear Secretary Thompson,
I trust you are as alarmed as I by the recent cooptation of certain
American Academy of Pediatrics members by the artificial baby milks
industry. They have, one must infer, succumbed to pressures to soft-pedal
the Ad Council’s Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign in the interest of not
projecting a “negative” message. In whose interest is this, exactly? Not
the public’s, surely. These members of America’s most esteemed medical
body have frankly, shamefully, lost sight of what ought to be their
mission and mandate: the promotion of an unadulterated vision for the
protection of the health and welfare of our nation’s most precious and
vulnerable resource, its children.
Plainly said, it is wrong - indeed, it is an injustice - to deliberately
withhold information to the public regarding any type of health-related
behavior which repeatedly has been proven to pose risks to those
partaking in said behavior. Just as previous explicit Ad Council
campaigns on the hazards of smoking and not wearing seat belts have
impacted the public’s awareness and behaviors (their messages, I might
add, undiluted by industry’s self-serving influence), the current Ad
Council Campaign on Breastfeeding Awareness must remain as it was
originally worded by the Breastfeeding section of the AAP, if the American
people are to have direct and accurate information at their disposal.
Those who already have access to this information know the risks of not
breastfeeding. The epidemic of obesity and diabetes has been linked with
not breastfeeding. I could cite countless references which provide
evidence of increased risks of acute lower respiratory disease,
gastroenteritis and otitis media from not breastfeeding - the landmark
study by Wright and Ball on the exorbitant and unnecessary costs to the
U.S. health care system due to lack of breastfeeding is one that comes to
mind – but I am quite sure you already are in possession of many such
lists.
As the health official with the highest potential to serve your public,
you now have the imperative to take a most meaningful stance. I urge you,
Secretary Thompson, to have the courage to do the right thing: Do not let
those already strong-armed by the duplicitous and unethical tactics of
industry allow your focus to be misdirected. Please let the Breastfeeding
Awareness Ad Council Campaign stand in its original form. Future
generations of Americans have the right to avoid some of the poor health
outcomes currently plaguing our society. If their parents are adequately
informed, they can have the most normal and natural start to their lives.
They deserve this much, don’t you agree?
Sincerely,
Marjorie Vera, Breastfeeding counselor, mother of two breastfed children
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