What tactics do formula makers use to promote products in Chinese hospitals?

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Formula Companies Employ Extensive Tactics to Promote Products in Chinese Hospitals

Global infant formula companies have adopted a wide range of aggressive strategies to promote their products within Chinese hospitals, often circumventing or outright violating a 1995 regulation designed to ensure physician impartiality and protect newborn health. These tactics include direct distribution of free samples, provision of gifts to medical staff, financial incentives for doctors, and leveraging access to patient information, effectively undermining the intended promotion of breastfeeding.
Direct Distribution of Samples and Gifts to Medical Staff

Formula company representatives frequently enter hospital rooms to distribute free samples of their products to new mothers and provide gifts to doctors. This practice is common even as mothers are recovering from childbirth. For instance, former formula company representatives confirmed that bringing samples to doctors and taking them to dinner was a standard industry practice in China. Doctors at Beijing Tiantan Hospital reported receiving small gifts from company representatives, including those from Nestle and Wyeth, although they were not given direct commissions.
Financial Incentives and Sponsorships for Healthcare Professionals

Formula manufacturers offer financial incentives to doctors to encourage the recommendation of specific brands. Furthermore, these companies fund prominent Chinese doctors to attend academic conferences, which some describe as "free holidays." Nestle, for example, has sponsored training for officials from mother-and-child clinics and supported academic studies analyzing breast milk composition. Mead Johnson launched a training program for medical personnel focused on nutrition and scientific feeding, a practice considered by WHO technical officers as a violation of both the WHO code and China's 1995 regulation.
Exploitation of Hospital Patient Information and Prenatal Classes

A significant tactic involves utilizing an underground market to obtain hospital patient information, including the names, phone numbers, and due dates of pregnant women and new mothers. Hospitals and doctors also sell access to prenatal classes to third-party companies, including formula manufacturers. This access allows these companies to lead classes, distribute promotional materials, or present their products. Eighteen mothers interviewed by Reuters reported being contacted by formula companies via phone or text message both during pregnancy and shortly after delivery, sometimes as soon as an hour after birth.
Branding and Marketing within Hospital Facilities

Formula companies engage in overt marketing within hospital facilities. Banners with slogans like "Healthy babies, happy mothers" and branding from companies such as Mead Johnson have been observed in maternity wards. Hospital staff have also been observed strapping identity bands branded by formula companies to babies' limbs. While companies like Mead Johnson state they provide materials only upon request and in compliance with regulations, promotional activities and materials are a common sight, with some posters eventually being removed after scrutiny.

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What tactics do formula makers use to promote products in Chinese hospitals?

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