DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2016.729
title: Legal measures concerning marketing of breast-milk substitutes in Thailand

description: It is widely accept that mother’s breastfeeding is one of the best ways to ensurechild health growth and survival. WHO and UNICEF recommended that “mothersworldwide should exclusively breastfeed their infants for first six months to achieve optimalgrowth, development and health. Thereafter, they should be given nutritiouscomplementary foods and continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years or beyond.”Even though we have known numerous benefits of breast milk for infantsand young children, however the rate of breastfeeding are low, one among factors thatcauses to the declination of breastfeeding is marketing of breast-milk substitutes. Breastmilksubstitutes are marketed directly to consumer via mass media and advertisement andindirectly via incentives, free samples, donation of formula, promotional gifted to newmothers and gifted given to health workers. The design, packaging and labeling of milk forolder children, milk for mother and related products are packed and designed to look closelyresemble with breast-milk substitutes and promoted in ways that cross-promote its formulaproduct. This leads to confusions as the purpose of the product. The promotion of breastmilksubstitutes and marketing influences and induce mother to believe that breast-milksubstitutes is equivalent or better than to human breast-milk and finally decide to stopbreastfeeding. In 1981, ‘The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes’was developed and adopted by WHO and UNICF as a ‘minimum standard’ to helpprotect and promote breastfeeding and to ensure breast-milk substitutes are used safelywhen necessary. Furthermore, in 2016 WHA 69th has adopted the ‘Guidance on Ending the Inappropriate Promotion of Foods for Infants and Young Children’ which aims topromote, protect and support breastfeeding, prevent obesity and non-communicabledisease, promote healthy diets, and ensure that caregivers receive clear and accurateinformation on feeding.In Thailand, the directly regulation controlling the marketing of breast-milksubstitute is the Regulation of Marketing of Foods for Infants and Young Children andRelated Products 2008. However, this regulation is not legislative or statutory law thatcan be enforced against the marketing of breast-milk substitutes. In addition, theAnnouncement of the Food and Drug Administration Criteria for Food AdvertisementB.E.2551 and revision (No.2) B.E.2555 (2012) under the Food Act B.E.2522 laid downprohibitions related to advertisement. However, the announcement and its revision canrestrict only an advertisement of food for infant and young children. As a result, thoseprohibitions do not cover the promotion and marketing instrument.In order to comply with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milkSubstitutes, the Ministry of Public Health has been pushing forward the drafts of “LegalControl of Marketing of Food for Infant and Young Children” into the national legislation toimprove the measures to control the marketing of breast-milk substitutes. Currently, there aretwo drafts regarding the Department of Health and the Council of State no.1087/2559.Thus, this thesis aims to study the situation and the current legal measure inThailand concerning the marketing, advertising and labelling of breast-milk substitutes,including both of the drafts of legal control of marketing of food for infant and youngchildren. Simultaneously, the thesis also studies the International Code of Marketing ofBreast-milk Substitutes as the minimum requirement for all governments and theforeign law of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the Philippines in order tocompare and seek appropriate legal measures to control the marketing of breast-milksubstitutes in Thailand.