Vetting journal advertisements
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* Amy Laski, HBA

*   © 2008 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors

[Coca-Cola Canada responds:]

As part of an ongoing and far-reaching series of discussions we have been having with health and wellness stakeholders across Canada, we have encountered a number of common misperceptions about our products and policies, including the notion that we advertise soft drinks to children. We have run advertisements in publications including *CMAJ* to address this and other misperceptions.

For over 50 years, Coca-Cola has had a policy that prohibits any company advertising for any of our beverages in Canada on programming that is primarily directed to children younger than 12 years of age. (Any programming or media platform for which 50% or more of the audience is under 12 years of age is considered programming primarily directed to children.) Further, as a founding member of the Canadian Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative we voluntarily submit both the medium and the message of our advertising for audit by a third party Canadians trust: Advertising Standards Canada.

## Footnotes

*   **Competing interests:** None declared.