A Review of Current Legislation on Milk Formula Advertising for Infants and Young Children in Hong Kong

Abstract

The World Health Organization published an International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in 1981 to emphasise the merits of exclusive breastfeeding. As Hong Kong has joined the code on a voluntary basis, this Code of practice is not backed up by formal legislation and is thus not legally binding. Over the past decades, milk formula
advertising has been so successful that acceptance of formula milk prevail from hospital to home. Pro-breastfeeding advocates generally argue that milk formula advertising has become a major obstacle in boosting breastfeeding rates. This article reviews the current legislation on milk formula advertising for infants and young children in Hong Kong, and the attempts of the government to enhance such legislation.