BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL AND ADVERTS FOR BREASTMILK SUBSTITUTES

That this House welcomes the British Medical Journal's decision to no longer carry adverts for breastmilk substitutes; understands that they have done so through concerns over the aggressive promotion of these products, and subsequent impacts on global rates of breastfeeding; appreciates that the decision was taken in line with the World Health Organization and Unicef's International code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, which explicitly bans advertising and promotion of breastmilk substitutes to the general public; understands that the code is in place to constrain unethical behaviour by companies; and encourages all organisations in the UK and worldwide to follow both the letter and the spirit of the Code.