The report found that more than half of the 8,500 parents across the eight countries surveyed - Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Vietnam – reported exposure to marketing, much of which was in breach of the code. The formula milk industry is now worth $55 billion annually. Nigel Rollins, lead author of the report and a WHO scientist, told Reuters in an interview: "Are there areas for strengthening the code? Unquestionably."įormula milk and tobacco are the only two products for which there are international guidelines to prevent marketing.ĭespite this, only 25 countries have fully implemented the code into legislation, and over the last four decades, sales of formula milk have more than doubled, while breastfeeding rates have only slightly increased, the WHO said. The code was set up by WHO in 1981 in a bid to regulate the industry after scandals in the 1970s when Nestle was accused of discouraging mothers, particularly in developing countries, from breastfeeding. The report's authors and several external experts said it was time to reform the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for newborns, where possible, as the healthier option.
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