PAKISTAN has banned advertisements for contraceptive products on television and radio over concern that they expose inquisitive children to the subject of sex, local media reported last Saturday (28).
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said it was acting in response to com- plaints from parents and its ban covered all contraceptive, birth control and family planning products.
“(The) general public is very much concerned (about) the exposure of such products to the innocent children, which get inquisitive on features (and) use of the products,” it said in a statement.
The ban came despite a government initiative to encourage birth control in Pakistan, which has a population of 190 million people.
It is unclear whether it will extend to the government’s own family planning publicity efforts. Provincial population welfare departments regularly run campaigns to educate citizens on the benefits of various forms of birth control.
Advertisements for condoms and other forms of birth control are rare in Pakistan. Contraceptive use is already low and fell by a further 7.2 per cent last year.
