The case against infant formula - based on trials with human babies who consumed normal amounts of formula - is at least as strong as the case against moderate teen drinking - mostly based on extrapolations from rat studies or severely alcohol-dependent teens. If infant formula were as stigmatized as beer, the government would warn parents who formula feed that they are exposing children to dangerous health risks. It might even require prescriptions for mothers who cannot breast feed and prosecute any others who "furnish" formula to their infants.

Fortunately, according to the Times, even critics of infant formula resist this punitive approach. At least in the case of mothers, the public health community acknowledges that sanctioning behaviors widely regarded as normal, private home matters will only be counterproductive.

Families would benefit from better health education regarding the dangers of formula. Women who breast feed deserve far better economic and cultural support. For now, however, I want to consider another question: Teens and alcohol may be a more politically acceptable target than formula-feeding mothers, but even if most parents agree to tell their teens that any alcohol before age 21 is dangerous, will their words produce the intended result?

Parents today are supposed to begin early. When asked by a 14-year-old if they drank before age 21, the parent is to reply that it is a private matter they won't discuss or tell the teen about terrible or embarrassing consequences of their drinking. Either option will be a nonstarter for many parents. A "none of your business" response hardly elicits trust.

Most parents could not honestly say that their experiences with underage drinking were predominantly bad. Some mistakes were made in early drinking experiences, but the first date and job interview were hardly flawless. Many parents would prefer taking such a question as a teachable moment to discuss the consequences of excess. Even middle-school children have a "b.s. meter" for adults. When adults, especially moderate drinking and successful ones, tell teens that their drinking in late high school or early college years was primarily a source of addiction, emotional trauma, or irreversible intellectual loss they evoke laughter.

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