Māori health researcher Dr Marewa Glover says baby formula manufacturers have behaved like tobacco companies in the way they have used marketing to manipulated women into using their products.
Dr Glover research has found that Māori women have one of the lowest rates of breast-feeding in the world, and she contributes this trend to generations having been constantly exposed to messages from the milk formula industry.
Māori women choose formula over breast-feeding because they are not warned properly about the health risks.