Experts propose heavy taxes on import, marketing of formula milk

ISLAMABAD: Formula milk should be heavily taxed like cigarettes to discourage their consumption and promote breastfeeding in the country while strict laws are needed to curb the illegal and unethical marketing of the Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS), legislators and health experts said on Wednesday.

“Production and distribution of formula milk products should be regulated and there should be strict laws for their regulation. Formula milk products should be heavily taxed like tobacco products and cigarettes to make them unaffordable for most people as they are damaging for our future generation”, PPP Senator Sehar Kamran told an advocacy seminar. Over a dozen parliamentarians including MNAs and Senators were invited by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to attend the ‘Advocacy and Awareness Seminar on BMS Code’ but only one senator managed to attend the meeting.

Senator Sehar Kamran said besides strict laws and heavy taxation, awareness among young girls was key to discouraging formula milk consumption and promoting breastfeeding, saying unfortunately young mothers feeding their children are ridiculed, which discourages the practice. Deploring that the child marriage restraint bill was still pending in the Parliament but added that even after the promulgation of the laws, implementation remains a serious challenge in Pakistan and called for implying all tactics to discourage the use of formula milk, resulting in serious health issues for children. She also called for holding awareness activities in Urdu and other local languages so that most of the people could understand them and hoped that a comprehensive campaign would be launched to promote breastfeeding.

Director General Health Dr Baseer Achackzai said they had organized the advocacy seminar for the parliamentarians so that they could lobby for the legislation for the promotion of breastfeeding and discourage formula milk but deplored that most of the parliamentarians who were invited to the seminar could not manage to attend the important activity.

According to him, Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS) were artificial milk which were the cause of obesity, malnutrition and diarrhoea among children, saying they were harmful to the children but unfortunately, they were being presented and promoted as healthy products for the children, which need to be rectified.

He said people should follow the Quranic injunctions regarding breastfeeding and added that they were trying their best to create awareness regarding breastfeeding in the country.

Renowned Pediatrician and President of the Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA) Prof. Dr Jamal Raza called for a complete ban on the import of formula milk products, saying Pakistan was spending over $400 million for their import which was completely unnecessary and damaging for the children’s health.

He also deplored that there exists no mechanism for the price and quality control of formula milk in Pakistan, saying their prices are raised by their importers and marketing companies while nobody knows about the quality and ingredients used in their manufacturing. “Now, on an average Rs. 30,000 are spent by a family per month for arranging formula milk if over-dilution is not done. This is a strong financial burden on people, which can be avoided by promoting breast milk”, he said and added that formula milk was also resulting in malnutrition in the country.

The PPA President also deplored that parliamentarians were not present at the advocacy and awareness seminar although this was arranged for them. Prof. Jamal Raza also urged paediatricians and doctors to discourage parents from giving formula milk to children and said strict laws should be promulgated to discourage the illegal marketing of formula milk.

Several other experts including Dr Khwaja Masuood, and Dr Saba Shuja from Unicef as well as experts from PIMS, and other health institutions from entire Pakistan also attended the event.