Submitted by John Stauber on
"Federal officials have softened a national advertising
campaign to promote breastfeeding after complaints from two
companies that make infant formula, according to several
doctors and nurses who are helping the government with the
effort. After the two companies [Mead Johnson and Abbott] and the top officials of the American Academy of Pediatrics complained to federal health
officials, the government decided to eliminate spots
discussing the risk of leukemia and diabetes in babies not
breastfed, said Amy Spangler, the chairwoman of the United
States Breastfeeding Committee, a group that promotes
breastfeeding. According to the Ad Council newsletter,
those ads said that babies not breastfed had a 30 percent
increased risk of developing leukemia and up to a 40
percent increased risk of developing diabetes. ... Marsha Walker, who sits on the leadership team of the
United States Breastfeeding Committee with Ms. Spangler,
said that the information on leukemia and diabetes should
be left in the ads. ... 'This is being
shot down by an industry that has no business interfering.
Ultimately it hurts the health of our babies and our
moms.' "
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