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UK Against Fluoridation

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Southampton PCT - fluorosis is not a health problem

Southampton PCT have this web page devoted to their push for fluoridation.

On Thursday 31 March 2005, Southampton City Primary Care Trust (PCT) agreed at their public board meeting to support the principle of water fluoridation and wish to investigate its potential to address the problems of poor dental health in Southampton.

Before a consultation and public decision can take place, studies need to be done to see if it is viable. The PCT will be asking the Strategic Health Authority to co-ordinate cost and technical feasibility studies of fluoridating the water. If the results of these are positive, then the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority would begin a public consultation to establish whether people living and working in the area to be fluoridated are in support.

Andrew Mortimore, Director of Public Health for the PCT said “Child dental health in Southampton is particularly poor, with over a third of five year olds having decayed, missing or filled teeth, and it’s getting worse. Last year 3,203 teeth were extracted, 2,752 of these from children. Oral health promotion programmes have been in place for a number of years in Southampton, but dental problems persist, despite the PCT’s continuous development and investment into these programmes. There is plenty of evidence that proves fluoridation can reduce dental decay. When the public consultation is held, we will provide the local community with all of the information to enable them to make an informed decision about whether they want fluoride added to their water.”

Fluoride is naturally present in virtually all water supplies, but only one in 10 of the UK’s population benefit from the level pf protection provided by the optimum level for dental health, which is one part per million (1ppm). In parts of the country where fluoride is naturally present in the water system, people benefit significantly with improved dental health, and have less decayed, filled or missing teeth.

There are a number of options that the PCT could consider such as fluoride drops and tablets, fissure sealants, fluoride varnishes and gels, fluoridated milk or providing fluoride toothpaste for those most in need. All of these options have their benefits and drawbacks, however, and water fluoridation is the single most effective means of reducing dental health inequalities, particularly in children, as it does not require any changes in behaviour within our population.

This of course is a contentious subject, and you may already have heard arguments against fluoridation, but you also might want to find out some more facts about fluoridation before you come to your own conclusion. The following web pages will provide you with facts about fluoride and fluoridation as well as some links to other useful websites.

If you should have any further questions you would like answering, you can complete the form online.

Click title to ask questions and read their FAQ

Sunday, May 29, 2005

"anti-scientific claptrap "

Presidential address

Dr John Craig was installed as the new President of the British Dental Association at this year's 2005 National Annual Conference held in Glasgow on May 19-21 2005 The following is his presidential address.


Aesthetic sensibilities may come and go, techniques and materials change and improve but the bedrock, the essence of any profession is ethics...
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming here this morning. It must have been an early start for most of you and it is a great pleasure to see so many friends here today.

I could not be more delighted with the great honour which the Association has done me by electing me president and I will say more on that in due course. Needless to say, perhaps, but it certainly didn't appear on the game plan when I enrolled in the BDA as a student member in the early sixties.

A pleasant and early duty of the new president is to acknowledge the contribution of his predecessor. Anyone who knows Tony Kravitz was well aware that he would perform his presidential duties with enormous diligence and attention to detail and, of course, he has done exactly that. He and Hilary have been untiring ambassadors for the Association and for the profession and, on a personal level, Tony's advice to me as the president elect has been characteristically generous and very helpful.

On behalf of the Association may I therefore congratulate and thank you both on a splendid presidential year and offer our best wishes to you and your family for the future.

I am sure you will agree that there are few honours which are gained on the merits and work of the recipient alone and I am no exception to that. No one can attain the presidency without considerable support from many people, colleagues, friends and family. In my case my section, the Stirling & Clackmannan section, and my branch, the West of Scotland branch, have been generous in their support over many years and the other two Scottish branches, North of Scotland and East of Scotland have most kindly sponsored this conference. My colleagues in committees all the way from section to Executive Board have been equally generous in their support and to them I would add the BDA staff whose helpful and constructive advice I have valued greatly over the years. You will understand when I make special mention of the members of the various Scottish Committees and both former and present staff of BDA Scotland. You are all too numerous to mention by name but you all know who you are and my grateful thanks go to you all.

I have obviously omitted two important groups, my practice and my family. In the practice over the last ten years the forbearance of my two partners, Donald Macleod and Graeme Duncan, was heroic and uncomplaining. Well, at any rate, they didn't complain to me. And not forgetting our staff; I have worked with many marvellous dental nurses, hygienists, receptionists and practice managers over the years. Their hard work and professionalism have allowed me to treat our patients better, indeed, I could not have done it without them and I am delighted to see so many of them here today.

And then of course there is my family. Irene and our two children, Malcolm and Lesley, who have always been completely supportive and understanding of my commitment to my profession and to the BDA. I cannot thank them enough.

As I said earlier, being President of the Association is a great honour and every president I have known has expressed how daunted they were when they contemplated the roll of past presidents. I am no less daunted and particularly during this year, the 125th birthday of the BDA, the sense of responsibility to the history and traditions of the Association is heightened.

When one reads the history of the foundation of the Association one is struck by how similar were our founders' concerns to our own; standards of education and practice, the formation and maintenance of a register and the development of a profession based on sound science and ethics were what informed the debate, then as now. It is also interesting to note how clearly such eminent men, and it was all men in those days, saw the need for dentistry to be distinct, but not separate from, medicine. They also saw, from the beginning, that this should be a British Dental Association and I am sure they would be gratified to see today the strength of the Association throughout the UK and the modern image which it projects through the new BDA National Offices in Belfast, Cardiff and Stirling and its refurbished London offices. They would surely remember the first time the BDA Conference came to Glasgow because it was only seven years after the foundation of the Association. Indeed, in the first ten years of the Association its conferences were held in places as far apart as Plymouth, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Glasgow, Manchester and Exeter, surely an early indication of a determination to be a truly UK wide organisation.

And of course they gave us our splendid motto Ars, Scientia, Mores - Art, Science and Ethics. Did any profession ever have a better motto? It is at one and the same time a concise description of the dental profession and a challenge to its members to live up to such high ideals.

Many of you will have seen the splendid portrait of our first president, Sir John Tomes, which now hangs in the foyer of 64, Wimpole Street. Sir John has a rather pensive, even disapproving look on his face so I thought I might ask him, 125 years on, to step out of his portrait and return as the Ghost of Dentistry Past to inspect his successors' stewardship of the Association and of the profession which he and his colleagues so carefully nurtured in its early days. In a year where major and fundamental change in the provision of dentistry is taking place throughout the UK, a year that promises to be of great significance to the profession and the BDA, how are we living up to our founders' expectations in the art, science and ethics of dentistry?

As far as the Association is concerned Sir John would no doubt note our recent financial difficulties but I believe we have addressed those problems swiftly and with determination and transparency. As a member of the Finance Committee which was set up to deal with the financial crisis and with particular responsibility for the initial restructuring plan, I know only too well how stressful this was for everyone and in particular our staff. Their responsible and constructive approach did much to ensure that the swift and effective restructuring, which was absolutely essential to achieve the financial turn round, was put in place with the minimum delay. I can assure them that their role has been much appreciated by the members and officers of the Association.

I believe that we have come out of this experience as a stronger Association and one that is clearer about its role and its priorities and about what it wants to achieve for its members, but we are not complacent. There is still much to do and we cannot relax for a minute the rigour of our financial constraints, but we are clearly on the right road and intend to stay there.

I am sure Sir John would be impressed with our rising levels of membership and with this year's conference and exhibition which is the biggest the BDA has ever had. Our staff now provide a wider range of services to more members than ever before and we continually look to improve and expand those services where we can.

If Sir John widened his focus he would see the BDA serving its members in a changing world where scientific and clinical advances continue to transform treatment options for our patients in both the art and science of dentistry. He need only look at the Conference programme to see that. He might be impressed by the renewed emphasis on public health measures in the provision of oral health care and the increasing reliance on Evidence Based Dentistry. On the other hand, I am sure he would be absolutely dismayed to see that in Scotland the Scottish Executive, despite its avowed intention to improve dental health in Scotland, has not pursued the fluoridation of public water supplies. Politicians, with the apparent moral fibre of earthworms, have caved in to electoral expediency and the anti-scientific claptrap peddled by the tabloid press and some members of the Scottish Parliament.

Sir John might be surprised at the expectations our patients have for the relationship with those who provide their care and at their expectations of the care that they receive. He would recognise from his own time the dilemma of an entrepreneurial profession trying to square the ethical circle of being a health profession with one foot firmly planted in the world of commerce and lifestyle. But, he would surely welcome the fact that dentists throughout the UK have refused to compromise standards at the diktat of politicians; politicians whose only concern seems to be access and never mind quality of care for patients or the working conditions of dental staff. Aesthetic sensibilities may come and go, techniques and materials change and improve but the bedrock, the essence of any profession is ethics. Art, Science, Ethics is a proud and challenging motto. Art, Science, Access is merely a political slogan.

Sir John would be delighted, and I know I would say this, that initially at its own expense and with the aim of raising standards of patient care, the profession introduced and developed Vocational Training (VT) in General Dental Practice. However, I believe he would be disappointed that, in England, the dedication of advisers and trainers has not been matched by a clear and unequivocal commitment from the government that VT should remain as an educational tool and not degenerate into being merely a means of workforce planning and direction.

And so, before I ask the shade of Sir John to step back into his portrait, I might play a little trick on him and take him to a modern dental school to see his reaction to the changed demographics of his profession. I wonder what an eminent Victorian like he would think of the emphasis on the expanded dental team or the number of young women in the profession (actually, it might cheer him up a bit). I think I would need to explain to him that the dynamic of the dental team is changing and, in all spheres of dentistry, is allowing us to deliver care more effectively to our patients.

Being the man he is, or rather was, I suspect Sir John might well surprise us by saying, “That's marvellous. The Dental Team, I like the sound of that and, of course, they will all be members of the British Dental Association?”

I would have to say, “No, only dentists can be members of the BDA. That's the way you set it up, Sir John.”

“But, for goodness sake man, that was 125 years ago. What have you been doing all these years? You tell me you value the dental team so unless you are all merely paying lip service to this idea isn't it about time all team members can be members of the BDA? So, there you are, young Craig. Think about it. There's a challenge for you on our 125th birthday.”

And then, in a puff of mercury vapour, Sir John would be gone, back into his portrait for another 125 years.

It is generally a conceit of the present to patronise the past and to underestimate the future. The past may well be another country and they certainly did do things differently there but in bidding farewell to Sir John, our Ghost of Dentistry Past, I think we should congratulate him and the other founders of the British Dental Association on the ambition they showed 125 years ago for our then fledgling profession. We, their successors, cannot predict and must not underestimate what the future may bring but we should promise that we will try and match their vision for the next 125 years and beyond.

For my own part, in thanking the members of the British Dental Association for the great honour of the presidency, I can assure you all that over the coming year my only concerns will be to maintain the reputation and dignity of the British Dental Association and, of course, to promote the Art, Science and Ethics of dentistry.

Friday, May 27, 2005

Nebraska rebellion

A group of residents came before the Gering City Council Monday night requesting the city remove fluoride from its potable water supply.
Gering resident Loretta Roth began the almost one hour session with pages of information garnered from various sources on the Internet.
"I think it's time our fluoridation policy was updated," Roth said. "We used to think chemicals like DDT and thalidomide were safe, but we were wrong."
Some of the maladies she claimed were caused by fluoride in the water system included various cancers and tumors, weakened bones, and immune system malfunctions.
She said the American Dental Association and other medical groups were deliberately deceiving the public about the health hazards of fluoridation, calling positive data "questionable at best."
She added that lawsuits have already been filed over the practice in other parts of the country.
Loretta Muhr agreed, saying that fluoride is concentrated in the thyroid gland. "My daughter developed thyroid cancer, and I can't help but wonder if our fluoridated water was a contributing factor."
Sandy Briggs said she wondered why Gering resident were never given the chance to vote on fluoridation when it was implemented in 1997.
"Some people are sensitive to fluoride, so there's no way of knowing how this will affect people in the future," Briggs said. "I think people would have voted against it if they had the choice. It's poison."
Local dentist Todd Pieper said he's always seen fewer cavities in children in towns that had fluoridated water. "I'm seeing a lot of soft teeth here, so there a distinct advantage to fluoridation."
He added that because kids and adults don't always have the best brushing habits, fluoridation is an effective method to promote dental health.
County Health Director Bill Wineman said that according to documented, peer reviewed research, most major medical associations agree that fluoridation is the right thing to do. "I know you can find all kinds of information on the Internet, but a lot of it isn't valid," he said.
Wineman added that if Gering stopped fluoridating its water, flouride would still be there as a naturally occurring element.
Gering resident Bob Roth asked what were his options. "You're forcing me to drink bottled water at an added expense," he said. "Why should I spend extra for what I'm already paying for? I want a choice. We should at least put it to a vote."
Gering began fluoridating its water in 1997. Several public hearings were advertised to receive input, but few people attended. The council then voted to begin the practice.
City Attorney Jim Ellison said he's still doing research on the issue. But it appears that removal of the fluoride would require a vote of Gering residents. That would involve gathering signatures and getting the measure on the ballot.
The council referred the fluoridation issue to the Public Works Committee for further discussion.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Was Jane Jones right?

Jane Jones sent me this email last year I think she is right, only people power will stop fluoridation - writing to the SHA wont.
Bill
The PCTs in Lancashire have been having their meetings - and I made a strong presentation, on behalf of the NPWA, to Ribble Valley and Hindburn PCT some months ago. And I actually read out Sheldon's letter and gave a copy to every PCT member!

We caught the dental public health officer purveying outright lies and misinformation to the PCT - and wrote to David Hinchliffe, MP, who is Chairman of the Health Select Committee to complain. See it on our site. And I copied it to the Chairman of the PCT AND the SHA.

It makes no difference. They WILL follow Dept. of Health guidelines, no matter what. And, don't forget, the SHAs actually wrote to MPs prior to the third reading, urging them to support fluoridation. And it is the SHAs who will make the recommendations.

No amount of "education" cuts any ice. It never, ever has.

THAT's why we asked the water companies not to refer us to SHAs. And don't you think it odd that the PCTs are talking about this - and there is still no secondary legislation to say what form public consultations will take? You see, it is not about the public. It is a political mindset which the health authorities follow. If they didn't, they would be replaced (they are appointees) This HAS happened in the past when public consultations took place in the north. Dissenters were removed!

J

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Ross Fitzgerald: Trading tooth decay for cancer

May 26, 2005
THOSE health bureaucrats who want to force fluoride on the water supplies of rural NSW should learn from their cousins north of the border. This year, well-meaning people have again tried, unsuccessfully, to force mandatory water fluoridation on Queensland.

Now I am not a scientist but there seem to be five prongs to their offensive: everyone else is doing it; the "authorities" say it is safe; the "experts" say it is effective; the opponents are nutcases; the issue of fluoridation is beyond debate.

Let me look at these one at a time. First, everyone else is doing it. This approach might be good for selling shoes, but it is hardly the way to sell medicine. Not so long ago, tens of thousands of patients in Australia were taking Vioxx. Yet if we are really interested in what everyone else is doing, the vast majority of human beings on this planet are not being forced to drink artificially fluoridated water. Most of Europe has rejected it.

Second, the "authorities" say it is safe. Let's look at one of those authorities. In 1991, the National Health and Medical Research Council recommended that Australian health authorities track the level of fluoride in our bones to see how much is accumulating and to see if it is making them more brittle. This has not been done. We are flying blind.
Click title for full story

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Australian "Expert" attacks Dr Connett

Tuesday, 24 May 2005

Australia's leading dental researcher Professor John Spencer from Adelaide University joins with other dental health authorities in dismissing recent claims by an American anti-fluoridationist that he says totally misinterprets Australian research into dental decay.

According to the Area Health Service's Oral Health Project Manager, John Irving, the claims against water fluoridation not only take statements out of context, but also make false claims.

"Anyone bothering to check the evidence would soon discover the statement by Paul Connett from the United States that Australian research by Armfield and Spencer (2004) showed no benefit from water fluoridation was absolutely wrong," he said.

Professor John Spencer, internationally recognised as this country's leading oral health researcher and who is head of the Australian Research Centre on Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) at Adelaide University is dismayed his research is being used this way.

"Dr Connett misrepresents the study as an analysis of the benefits of water fluoridation which it was not. He also misinterprets the study's indirect evidence on the benefits of water fluoridation on decay," Professor Spencer said .

"This is the sort of misrepresentation or misinterpretation that earned the condemnation of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) in 1991.

"We remain active researchers on what affects child oral health and our work has repeatedly found support for the benefits of water fluoridation. We are not sideline critics. We remain engaged in learning about how best to invest in improved oral health for Australians."

Mr Irving said the statements by Dr Connett had been included in a media release sent around the US recently and were not supported by the organisation and individuals he quotes.

"The Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the US Surgeon General and the American Dental Association, all cited by Dr Connett, publicly and strongly support water fluoridation to safely, effectively and equitably reduce dental decay. Why? Because it works and without it there would be far more rotten teeth than there are at present and as a result more general health problems that flow from oral disease," Mr Irving said.

"What's more the CDC called water fluoridation one of the top 10 public health initiatives of the 20th Century."

The World Health Organisation's International Program on Chemical Safety includes a comprehensive volume on fluoridation (EHC 227) and examines possible links between water fluoridation and health problems and concludes there is none, after reviewing all the evidence.

"Fluoride is a micro-nutrient, it is part of us, and like iron or other similar elements, there is a dose that actually helps our health and an amount that doesn't. There is a significant difference between the two and in Australia the safety margin is high. Fluoridated water has only about 0.8 parts per million added to top up the existing level - it's a tiny but effective and safe amount," Mr Irving said.

"With more than 60 years of water fluoridation being safely used to reduce dental carries in adults and children, it is unreasonable to claim it is associated with health problems and to ignore the benefits. To falsely discount them amounts dental child abuse."

Monday, May 23, 2005

Fluoride Chemicals Leach Lead Into Water Supplies

Burlington, VT - May 23, 2005 -- Fluoride chemicals, combined with other water additives, pull health-damaging lead from plumbing systems into drinking water, according to University of North Carolina researchers reported a North Carolina newspaper on May 18, 2005 (a). Fluoride is added to water supplies to prevent cavities, not purify it as some believe.
A combination of chloramines and fluorosilicic acid, especially with extra amounts of ammonia, leaches lead from meters, solder and plumbing systems, according to Richard P. Maas, PhD and Steven C. Patch PhD, co-directors of the Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
Chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, is a water supply disinfectant. Fluorosilicic acid, the chemical used by over 91% of U.S. fluoridating communities, attempts to improve dental health in those who drink it About 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies are fluoridated but tooth decay remains a national epidemic, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. (b)
Maas said, “Tests showed lead levels three and four times higher in water with that combination of chemicals …About 500 systems, across the country, have switched to chloramine treatment since 2001…and most also use fluorosilicic acid,” according to the North Carolina newspaper, the News & Observer.
Maas said this chemical interaction could be responsible for the elevated lead levels recently plaguing Greenville, North Carolina (c). Health authorities issued a lead advisory for water from the Greenville Utilities Commission when elevated lead levels showed up in 26 of 106 sampled homes.
Water leaving the plant and its distribution lines do not contain lead. But testing showed two children with harmful lead levels, leading health officials to speculate that corrosion of pipes within the home may be the cause. Greenville authorities warned pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age six to avoid the tap water until it is tested for lead.
Maas, who heads a lead poisoning prevention program in Western North Carolina funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said his lab has tested more than 150,000 homes across the country in the past 18 years and found that 10 to 15 percent have a significant lead contamination problem, according to the News & Observer article.
“No amount of lead is safe for a young child’s developing brain,” says Paul Connett, PhD, Professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and Executive Director of the Fluoride Action Network.

“If this new data is confirmed, it will further underscore the negligence of U.S. authorities using fluorosilicic acid as a fluoridating agent in the absence of any research establishing the safety of this particular fluoride chemical,” says Connett.

These new findings may help explain earlier published, peer-reviewed research by Roger Masters, PhD of Dartmouth College and Michael Coplan. Their studies show a link between water fluoridation status and elevated blood lead in children. (d)

Elevated blood lead levels are linked to developmental delays in children under age six and fetuses. Lead can adversely affect almost every organ and system in the body. The most sensitive is the central nervous system, particularly in children. Lead also damages kidneys and the reproductive system. The effects are the same whether it is breathed or swallowed.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "fluoride works primarily after teeth have erupted." (e)

"It really doesn't make any sense to ingest fluoride chemicals, anyway. Fluoridation is an outdated concept, wastes money, jeopardizes health and should be stopped everywhere," says Connett.

References:
(a) North Carolina News & Observer, “Water treatment process called potential risk Chemicals' mix with plumbing could put lead in tap water” http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/
story/2417101p-8794959c.html
(b) “First-ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health Finds Profound Disparities in Nation's Population,” News Release, May 25, 2000 National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/NewsAndReports/
NewsReleases/NewsRelease05252000.htm
(c) “Pitt County Issues Advisory After Lead Discovered In Children.” May 3, 2005, WFMY News – Greensboro, NC

http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/local_state/
local_article.aspx?storyid=40346

(d) Masters RD, Coplan MJ, et al., “Association of silicofluoride treated water with elevated blood lead,” Neurotoxicology. 2000 Dec;21(6):1091-100.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/
query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=
Abstract&list_uids=11233755&query_hl=1
(e) "Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States," August 2001

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm
Contacts:
Michael Connett, Project Director, Fluoride Action Network, info@fluoridealert.org
Dr. Paul Connett, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network, paul@fluoridealert.org
Media Relations Director, Fluoride Action Network, carol@fluoridealert.org
SOURCE: FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK
http://www.FluorideAlert.Org
PO Box 5111
Burlington VT 05402
E -mail: info@fluoridealert.org

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Department of Health to concerned citizen

Richmond House 79 Whitehall London
SW1A 2NS
Tel: 020 7210 3000

9 May 2005

Dear
Thank you for your letter of 3 May to the Department of Health about water fluoridation. Your letter has been passed to me for reply.

In response to the concerns that you raised in your letter, it may be helpful if I set out the Government's latest position concerning water fluoridation. As you may know, the 2003 Water Act requires drinking water suppliers to accede to requests from Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) to increase the concentration of fluoride in their water supplies, where a local population has first indicated its support. Section 58 of the Water Act 2003 provides for regulations to be made on the consultation and opinion gathering processes, which SHAs must follow if they wish to fluoridate their water supplies. It also makes provision for indemnities for drinking water suppliers in respect of liabilities that they may incur in fluoridating water.

The Department of Health published draft regulations on 27 July 2004. These proposals required SHAs who want to fluoridate to publish their proposals first in the local media and to consult on this decision for three months. SHAs would ask the relevant water companies to fluoridate only if the response to the proposals showed that the local population was in favour of fluoridation. The , draft consultation closed on 29 October 2004.

The Government's policy on fluoridation has been informed by the University of York report A Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, published in September 2000, the working group appointed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in September 2002. The York Review concluded that water fluoridation would result in a 15 per cent increase in the proportion of children with no experience of tooth decay.

The York Review found no evidence of adverse effects on overall health, other than dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is a mottling of the teeth, which in a small minority of cases may be aesthetically unacceptable but can usually be removed
by routine dental treatment.The York Review also summarised the quality of
research to date and the MRC Report made recommendations about the research necessary to strengthen the evidence base on the effect of fluoridation on health. The Government accept that further, high-quality research into many aspects of fluoridation is needed, which is why they have considered the findings of the York Review and the MRC.
The MRC Report provides quantitative data on exposure to fluoride. It explains such information as the margin of safety between recommended water fluoridation levels to reduce tooth decay in children and the level likely to cause harm over a lifetime exposure. The York and MRC reports are available online, at www.vork.ac.uk/inst/crd/fluorid.pdfandyvww.mrc.ac.uk respectively.

The fluoride used in water fluoridation is hexafluorosilicic acid. I would like to assure you that this is not highly toxic, nor a poison or an industrial waste by-product, butderives from a natural mineral source and is contaminant-free.
Before hexafluorosilicic acid can be added to the public drinking water supply, it must first meet the strict purity criteria laid down in the relevant European standard, published as a BS EN in the UK. This ensures that the levels of impurity and trace element concentrations that may originate from the apatite used during manufacture are extremely Iow.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (OWl) within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for ensuring that water companies use only chemicals approved for use in the treatment of public water supplies, either via the national scheme of approvals given under drinking water Regulations, or via the European Standards route. Regulation 31 (3)(b) of the 2000 Regulations (which came into force on the 1 January 2004) permits the introduction of a substance or product to water intended for human consumption where it conforms to an appropriate British Standard or some other national standard of an EEA State which provides an equivalent level of protection and performance. Thus, where a permitted fluoridation chemical like hexafluorosilicic acid conforms to the criteria specified by the European Standards (BS EN 12175:2001) it may be added to water intended for human consumption.

At the very dilute rates at which fluoride is added to drinking water (one part per million), no evidence has been found of risks to health. The MRC working group found no evidence to support claims that fluoridated water affects the immune and central nervous systems, the reproductive system, child development, the kidneys or the gastro-intestinal tract, nor for claims made linking fluoride to osteoporosis, cancer, thyroid damage, dementia and other conditions. Ministers regard MRC advice as authoritative.

Finally, you may not be aware that your drinking water already contains fluoride:
this occurs naturally in all water. Fluoride is also found naturally in tea and in
salt. It is added to most toothpastes in a typical concentration of 1100 -1450 parts per million. These products are being widely used or consumed now, and most people should have little to fear from fluoridation in a dilution ratio of one part per million. I hope this reply is helpful and thank you again for writing.
Yours sincerely, ____Hazel Mendonca Customer Service Centre

Thursday, May 19, 2005

The Fluoride Debacle By Robert C. Dickson, MD, CCFP, FCFP & Dr. Jim Beck

Consider this: If we as physicians were to prescribe to patients we know nothing about, including their age, medical history, physical status, disease state, immune system viability or tolerance for medicines, a medically active, unproven and vaguely sanctioned drug at uncontrolled doses and tell them to take as much as they want for the rest of their lives while not monitoring the side effects, how long would we be practicing medicine before our licenses were revoked? The answer, of course, is not for very long. Unfortunately, many North Americans are unaware that this is exactly what is happening when they sanction spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars each year to add the volatile toxin hydrofluosilicic acid to our otherwise decent drinking water.

May 16, 2005

Waking up in Florida

Fluoride-fortified water in Eustis faces brush with death

05/19/05
NICOLE KING
Staff Writer

EUSTIS — Adding fluoride to the city’s water supply could come to an end tonight. City commissioners will discuss the future of the city’s fluoridation program at tonight’s commission meeting.
Commissioner James Rotella says he doesn’t expect a vote tonight, but is looking forward to presenting some of the research he’s found on the subject. Rotella is the one who suggested the commission discuss the program, saying he’s had several residents express concern about side effects associated with fluoride.

“I did some research on it,” Rotella said

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Water treatment process called potential risk

Maas and Steven C. Patch, co-directors of the Environmental Quality Institute at UNC-Asheville, said their research showed that a combination of chloramines and fluorosilicic acid, especially with extra amounts of ammonia, increases lead leaching. Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia, and is added to disinfect water. Fluorosilicic acid is often added to water to improve dental health, a process known as fluoridation.

Tests showed lead levels three and four times higher in water with that combination of chemicals, he said.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Even the French are fighting obesity

By Elisabeth Rosenthal International Herald Tribune

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

PARIS Doctors here are perplexed by the runaway success in the United States of the best-selling advice book "French Women Don't Get Fat."

"Oh, but they do!" said Dr. France Bellisle, a prominent obesity researcher here. "I work in a nutrition department where we see lots of people who are overweight. And I can tell you that French women are getting obese - and some massively obese - these days."

Good diet = good health = good teeth

Obesity-driven diabetes among teens soars 15-fold in past generation and becomes a global phenomenon By ANDRÉ PICARD

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Updated at 6:13 AM EDT

The number of children and adolescents diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes has soared 15-fold in the past generation, and become a global phenomenon, according to a new study.

There is also evidence that half the young people with Type 2 diabetes don't yet know it, and could suffer serious heart and kidney damage as a result, researchers report in today's edition of The Journal of Pediatrics.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle-related disease, usually associated with obesity and inactivity. The condition was long believed to be exclusive to adults. Children and adolescents tended to develop Type 1 diabetes, a condition whose causes are unknown.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

They wouldn't would they?

GERMANS & RUSSIANS USED FLUORIDE TO MAKE PRISONERS 'STUPID & DOCILE

By: Devvy
May 14, 2005
NewsWithViews.com

"To whom it may concern: I, Oliver Kenneth Goff, was a member of the Communist Party and the Young Communist League from May 2, 1936 to October 9, 1939. During this period of time, I operated under the alias of John Keats and the number 18-B-2. My testimony before the Government is incorporated in Volume 9 of the Un-American Activities Report for the year 1939.
For full report Click title

Friday, May 13, 2005

Hepatitus B Vaccinations

Yet they want to introduce it here instead of dealing with the cause - sounds familiar. Posted by Hello

Lucky Bournemouth and West Hants Posted by Hello

Thursday, May 12, 2005

We ought to quote this

Tap water can make you FAT, say experts Jul 11 2004
By Caroline Wheeler, Sunday Mercury
Medical experts claim that West Midlands tap water can make people FAT and could be fuelling rising obesity levels.

For the past 40 years, fluoride has been pumped into the region's tap water to help keep teeth healthy.But now a top doctor claims that the toxin can cause worrying health side-effects including hypothyroidism, a medical dis-order affecting the thyroid gland which controls weight gain. And he believes that children may be particularly susceptible to obesity if their mums drank fluoridated water while pregnant. Last year, the West Midlands topped the UK 'fat list' with a shocking 22.5 per cent of its population classed clinically obese.

Fluoridation responsibility

Caroline Flint MP has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for public health.


Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for public health will be responsible for Public Health White Paper implementation, health inequalities, drug & alcohol misuse, tobacco, physical activity, diet and nutrition, communicable diseases, sexual health, HFEA, Food Standards Agency, fluoridation and sustainable development. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for public health will also support the Minister of State for health services on international and EU business, cancer and cardiac services.

New Zealand dental consultant insults opposition

Children's teeth rotting away
12 May 2005
Canterbury is facing an epidemic of tooth decay among its children, with half of all five-year-olds affected and a growing waiting list for hospital dental treatment. Joanna Davis reports on the tooth fairy's worst nightmare.

"Kids are being fed up on high energy, high sugar drinks and then they won't eat their lunch" - Dr Martin Lee, clinical director of the school and community dental service. Lee says there's nothing wrong with fluoridation. Those who are against it, he says, make a lot of noise but are in fact just "the health version of the Flat Earth Society".

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

New Zealand

Enforced Fluoridation Juggernaut Gathers Momentum
Wednesday, 11 May 2005, 2:27 pm
Press Release: NZ Democratic Party
Enforced Fluoridation Juggernaut Gathers Momentum
11.5.05.

The West Coast DHB approving fluoridation of the Greymouth water supply should warn other districts being lined up by the Health Ministry for similar tactics, according to the Democrats' social issues researcher and Canterbury/West Coast health spokesman David Tranter.

According to my sources the next fluoridation propaganda blitz - in Westland - will be followed by a similar process in Buller and then Canterbury as the Ministry seeks to enforce fluoridation on everyone dependent on public water supplies Mr. Tranter said.

Typical of the DHB's propaganda in the Grey District is their advertisement in the Greymouth Evening Star (26 March) giving an extensive list of individuals and groups who "Agree" with fluoridation, this being alongside a column headed "Disagree" and which includes just one group - the Fluoride Action Network. This is completely misleading since there are vast numbers of other individuals and groups world-wide citing well-documented evidence raising grave concerns about fluoridation. Incredibly, the DHB allege there is no evidence questioning fluoridation.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Apologize for Fluoridation; Don't Celebrate It, Say Experts

Full article click title:

Fluoridation fails America's children. But that won't stop Michigan dentists from rejoicing with a special fluoridation celebration on May 12, 2005 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, home to the first municipality that enrolled its residents, 60 years ago, in a cavity-prevention human experiment, without their informed consent. (1)

In 1945, fluoride was added to Grand Rapids’ drinking water to see what would happen to children's teeth. But the methodologies used would embarrass any self-respecting statistician or epidemiologist today, according to a review in the journal Nature (2).

Also in 1945, Newburgh, New York, was the first city to use the entire city's population to study fluoride's bad side effects to the rest of the body. And the results were dismal.

After ten years, bone defects, and earlier female menstruation occurred more often in Newburgh's children dosed with sodium fluoride-laced drinking water when compared to the control city of Kingston, NY. (3)

According to Professor Paul Connett, PhD, who teaches environmental chemistry and toxicology at St. Lawrence University in NY, "These results were ignored at the time, but are now being seen as valuable clues to far more serious problems, like accumulation of fluoride in the human pineal gland with a possible lowering of melatonin levels (Luke, 1997, 2001); increased bone fractures in children (Alarcon-Herrera et al., 2001) and possibly increased osteosarcoma (a bone cancer which is frequently fatal) rates in young men (NAS, 1977; NTP, 1990; Hoover, 1991; Cohn 1992; and Mihashi 1996).”

Meanwhile, after over 50 years of water fluoridation, many children in Newburgh, New York have more cavities and more fluoride-caused discolored teeth (dental fluorosis) than children in never-fluoridated Kingston, New York, according to a NYS Department of Health study published in the NYS Dental Journal (February 1998, Figure 1, Page 41)

Dr. Paul Connett, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network, Fluoride alert

For more information, contact:
paul@fluoridealert.org

Or

carol@fluoridealert.org carol@fluoridealert.org Media Relations Director, Fluoride Action Network

Sunday, May 08, 2005

From Liz Vaughan

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS.

Every council has a chief environmental health officer, sometimes their title is something different but their remit is the same. The chief environmental officer is also responsible for the councils health and safety officers. When it comes to the fluoridation issue it is the job of the chief environmental health officer to write a report for the council's committee that is debating the issue. He/she is responsible for presenting evidence for both sides of the issue and deciding what papers are sent out to councillors with the agenda for the meeting. If presentations are required the EHO arranges the speakers.

So as you can see the environmental health officers are very important and need to be aware and updated on the latest evidence. UKCouncils Against Fluoridation have been sending packages including the risk assessment disk and the dental fluorosis disk to EHO's but as you can imagine it is a huge task, this is why I am asking for your help.

To send a package to your council's EHO I need to know;
1. The name of the chief Environmental Health Officer of your council.
2. Full postal address of your council.
3. If your council has a policy for or against fluoridation.
4. Every county has a branch organisation of Environmental Health Officers, I am in touch with the Lancashire and Cumbria branches but would appreciate to know the EHO who is chairman or secretary of other branches in the UK.

I thank you in advance for your co-operation.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Liz Vaughan. Information Officer. UKCAF

Encouraging letter - Liz wants all the CIoEH approached.
 Posted by Hello

Saturday, May 07, 2005

I wish a UK news editor said the same.

No on 14-23
Well-intentioned idea, too drastic



By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Hood River News Editor
May 7, 2005

Though its backers are well-intentioned, we firmly recommend a “no” vote on Ballot Measure 14-23 on the May 17 ballot. Our review of the proposal draws down to the following four points:

* It is unnecessary, given that existing state and federal regulations help ensure clean water — and Hood River water is already renowned for its high quality. The ballot summary itself states, “Addition of substances is currently subject to state and federal standards,” then goes on to say, “but these standards do not contain a prohibition on addition of industrial waste byproducts and do not apply the EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Levels Goals.”

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Primary Care Trust response

Two years ago the PCT was promoting fluoridation leading me to an extended exchange of information as to why they shouldn't. I hope this has led to a rethink - we can dream.

NHS New Forest Primary Care Trust

Your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act I Environmental
Information Regulations-
Further to my letter dated 13/04/2005, I have now had an opportunity to review your request for information.
The PCT has no plans to discuss fluoridation in the near future. However should this be discussed in the future the Board meeting dates, venues, agendas and papers are posted on the PCT website (www.newforestpct.nhs.uk) and adverts are placed in the local press in advance. Any enquiries regarding future Board meetings can be made by contacting Chris Ashdown, Corporate Governance Manager on 02380874037.
If you have any further queries please contact Jane Howes in the PALS office on 023 8087 4545 or myself on the above number.
If you are not happy with the response to your request please do not hesitate to contact us for further assistance and advice.
.....
Further information about the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations may be found on the Information Commissioner's website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
Yours sincerely

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Why Don't the Amish Have Autistic Children?

Autism is a difficult disorder to miss, as it is characterized by noticeably abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted array of activities and interests. And while scientific consensus claims autism has been around for millennia at generally the same prevalence, that prevalence is now considered to be one in every 166 children born in the United States.

Wish our water companies were like this

Letter to be sent to utility customers
2005-05-04

This letter, approved by the South Blount Utility District Board on Tuesday, will be sent to all South Blount Utility District customers later this month with the annual Water Quality Report.

An open letter to the valued customers of South Blount Utility District

April 13, 2005

Fluoride

 
The NPWA has fought the longest running campaign in the United Kingdom (since 1960) and, on behalf of everyone in the UK - and particularly for more than a quarter of a million people (so far) who have joined our National Register of Objectors to Artificial Water Fluoridation - we are pledged to expose the lies and continue our vigorous campaign until all legislation permitting this totalitarian practice is dead on the floor of the House of Commons

Fw: Bush Plan Could "Sunset" Any Government Agency

Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 12:28 AM
Subject: Bush Plan Could "Sunset" Any Government Agency
bushgreenwatch

May 03, 2005 | Back Issues
Bush Plan Could 'Sunset' Any Federal Agency

Tucked away in the 2,000-page budget plan passed last week by both houses of Congress are three short sentences that could eliminate every federal program that protects public health, the environment, investors, worker's rights and many more.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Another Avenue

A good letter printed in this month's local scouts magazine against fluoridation. Another way to alert the community.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Are trucks filled with toxic chemicals safe?

Published on 02/05/2005


Fears: Michael Baron By Pamela McGowan

HIGHLY toxic chemicals being transported through West Cumbria’s country lanes have sparked serious fears among villagers.The lorries are travelling to water treatment works at Cornhow, near Loweswater, and Ennerdale carrying a chemical used in fluoridation.

Concern is growing following the spillage of a similar substance near Lancaster back in March.The leak was so serious it left the motorway closed for 24 hours as specialist crews carried out a clean-up.

Sunday, May 01, 2005

"Fluoridation honors"

Dentists Award the Toothless and Cavity-prone
Politics, not science, is the driving force behind water fluoridation
Distribution Source : ArriveNet

Date : Friday - April 29, 2005


New York -- (ArriveNet - Apr 29, 2005) -- "Fluoridation honors" were bestowed upon many communities(1), which happen to have the highest cavity and tooth loss rates, by the American Dental Association (ADA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (AASTDD). The irony is that fluoridation promoters promised cavity reductions up to 65% when fluoride-laced water is consumed.

Organized dentistry neglected to check oral health before awarding their "2003 Community Water Fluoridation Awards." Dentists may be embarrassed to learn they honored the most toothless and cavity-prone Americans in the name of water fluoridation.