The Church of England has criticised the relaxation on restrictions condom advertising on TV, arguing that regulators should not confuse educational goals on sexual health with opening the door to companies looking to make a profit.

Today's publication of the new advertising regulations included the relaxation of the ban on condoms being advertised on TV before the 9pm watershed – or 7.30pm on Channel 4.

The Church of England responded that government campaigns should continue to be the main channel for pushing messages about condoms and contraception.

"The church supports the sensitive use of media to offer unbiased and authoritative information to young people, but educational and commercial objectives should not be muddled," said a spokesman for the Church of England.

"We believe that properly targeted public information campaigns are preferable to advertising as a way of engaging young people on the topic of contraception."

The Church of England said that it felt that solid work in the new code to better protect young people from harmful advertising, such as a ban on collecting data from under-12s without parental consent, and from under-16s about other people, had been undermined by the relaxation of condom advertising rules.

"There is much we welcome in the new codes, especially the enhanced protection it offers children in many areas," the CoE spokesman added. "Given those encouraging developments, it is especially disappointing to see a relaxation of the rules on targeting condom advertising at under-16s."

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