Pediatricians Blast Inappropriate Ads
By Lindsey Tanner
AP Medical Writer
Mon, Dec. 04 2006

CHICAGO (AP) - Inappropriate advertising contributes to many kids' ills, from obesity to anorexia, to drinking booze and having sex too soon, and Congress should crack down on it, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

The influential doctors' group issued a new policy statement in response to what it calls a rising tide of advertising aimed at children. The policy appears in December's Pediatrics, scheduled for release Monday.

"Young people view more than 40,000 ads per year on television alone and increasingly are being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines, and in schools," the policy says.

Advertising examples cited in the statement include TV commercials for sugary breakfast cereals and high calorie snacks shown during children's programs and ads for Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs shown during televised sports games. the rest