Ministry of Health Bans Advertising of Infant Formula, Breast Milk Substitutes, Bottles, and Pacifiers

The Deputy Minister of Health of the Islamic Republic states that the publication of any pamphlets, books, magazines, and advertisements related to infant nutrition with formula, breast milk substitutes, bottles, and pacifiers by 'companies, mass media, and individuals' is prohibited. Hossein Farshidi cited 'religion and the Quran' in this regard, stating that programs promoting breastfeeding have been legislated based on this. This health official referred to the 'Law on the Promotion of Breastfeeding and Support for Mothers During Breastfeeding' passed in 1995 and the 'Family Support and Population Growth Law' approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 2021. The World Health Organization in 1981 established the 'International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes', an international health framework aimed at monitoring the 'inappropriate' marketing of these products, urging countries to enact laws to prevent 'harm' to the interests of companies producing breast milk substitutes and to increase breastfeeding rates and the health of their populations. While doctors and health organizations emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding, many mothers choose to use substitutes due to various issues including breastfeeding problems, concerns about nutrition and infant weight, medication use during breastfeeding, non-supportive job policies, cultural and social norms, and non-supportive hospital practices. Access to these products is crucial for proper infant nutrition. The statements from the health official regarding the 'ban' on advertising breast milk substitutes and pacifiers come at a time when Iranian families have faced significant difficulties in finding quality formula for their infants over the past two years, and formula produced for children with food allergies has also become scarce. Reports from Iranian media indicate that annual formula consumption in Iran reaches 61 million cans. Producers of formula have cited the lack of timely and sufficient currency allocation for securing raw materials as a cause of shortages. Although this highlighted the importance of rapidly importing this product, the CEO of the National Dairy Farmers Union stated that 'government officials' concluded that domestic raw milk production meets the needs of factories, formula production, and exports, thus making imports unnecessary. In recent years, the Islamic Republic has pursued a more serious policy of encouraging 'childbearing' and increasing population, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's emphasis on this issue prompting all agencies, including the health network, to change their policies to fulfill this directive. However, they have failed in their policymaking to meet the needs of families with children. In May, 'Eghtesad Online' reported, citing a citizen, 'In Farvardin, I bought 2 formulas for 83,000 tomans, but now I have to pay almost this amount for one formula.' Iranian media also reported that the price of baby bottles ranges from 120,000 tomans to 1,500,000 tomans, and foreign pacifiers from the American brand 'Dr. Brown's' range from 450,000 tomans to 1,100,000 tomans. The newspaper 'Arman' reported last November that the costs of 'childbearing' in Iran have skyrocketed, estimating that the minimum cost for having a child from pregnancy to one month old is around 100 million tomans, with the maximum cost estimated to be up to 300 million tomans, which could increase to 400 million tomans. Open data from Iran shows that the birth rate has reached its lowest level in half a century.