Sweden May Ban Images of Babies in Ads for Formula

Sellers of infant formula in Sweden will likely face a tough marketing problem soon: They won't be able to use images of babies on their products. A new law being readied for 2013 would make the practice illegal, reports the Local. Health officials want to encourage breastfeeding over formula, and they think images of cute babies idealize use of the powder mix. Manufacturers also wouldn't be able to sell the formula at a discount, and packaging would have to clearly send the message that breastfeeding is the preferred way to go.

All of which strikes Mary Fischer at the Stir blog as way over the top. "It's almost like they think feeding a baby formula is some sort of crime," she writes. "For the sake of moms around the globe who are either unable to breastfeed or simply choose not to (because it's THEIR decision and nobody else's)—this just seems so outrageous and unnecessary." Read her full response here. (More Sweden stories.)