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The
problem in brief
"Our children are our future - and our
future is under threat." Gwynne Lyons, WWF toxics adviser,
March 2004
"We accept that dental fluorosis is a manifestation of systemic
toxicity…” Baroness Hayman quoted in Hansard,
20 Apr 1999
Fluoride is a poison. It enters our bodies through water supplies
(in some areas in the UK), toothpaste, mouthwashes, processed food,
some vitamin tablets, and drinks like fruit juice, soda and tea.
There is, for example, enough fluoride in a tube of fluoride toothpaste
to kill a small child. Even more surprising, is that when it comes
to dental hygiene, fluoride actually does more harm than good.
Fluoride:
For very young children, the dangers of ingesting such a toxic substance
are frightening to comprehend. The '1 part per million' level of
fluoride in UK water supplies deemed 'safe' by the government is
100 times higher than that normally found in mother’s milk.
Prof Paul Connett, a leading authority on fluoride, spoke at the
Science, Medicine and The Law conference in London in January 2005.
He said: "There are no benefits, only risks, for infants ingesting
heightened levels of fluoride at such an early age, [when] susceptibility
to toxins are particularly high."
Fluoride is a poison
Hydrofluorosilic acid is listed as a Part II poisons under the Poisons
Act 1972. As such its use as a commercially ingestible product in
water contravenes UK and EU pharmaceutical legislation governing
the regulation of medicinal substances, as well as the Poisons Act.
Dr Arvid Carlsson of Sweden, a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for
medicine in 2000, advises against fluoridation. He says: "Fluoridation
of water supplies would also treat people who may not benefit from
the treatment. Side effects cannot be excluded and thus some might
only have negative effect without any benefit".
A chorus of disapproval
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway,
Switzerland, West Germany, Netherlands and Italy have all banned
the addition of hydrofluorosilic acid to drinking water. So have
Japan and India, where fluoride occurs naturally and skeletal fluorosis
(thickening of bones) is prevalent.
Dr John Colquhoun, former Principal Dental Officer for Auckland,
New Zealand changed his mind about fluoride when his worldwide study
revealed that dental decay was "slightly better in children
in non-fluoridated areas" and fluoride caused more harm than
good to children's teeth.
Professor Hardy Limeback, a consultant to the Canadian Dental Association,
warned that children under three years of age should never drink
fluoridated water or use fluoride toothpaste or products, and that
fluoridated water must never be used for making baby formula. He
rebuts the safety claims about fluoride and is concerned that no
tests have been undertaken by the international pro-fluoride lobby
to assess the effects of fluoride accumulation.
Although not all areas in the UK are fluoridated, there is legislation
to introduce it, subject to “consultation”. But, even
if you live in a fluoride-free area, your child may still be drinking
fluoride in drinks produced with fluoridated water elsewhere.
More research is needed now
The York Review (2000) on the safety and effectiveness of water
fluoridation, presented by England's Department of Health Centre
for Reviews and Dissemination (NHS CRD) at York University, says
that there is "surprisingly little research" into the
harmful effects of fluoride and recommends "high quality research"
into fluoride's possible links with infant mortality, IQ and congenital
defects.
In a 2004 review by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) into the effects
of chemicals on children's development, Gwynne Lyons, WWF toxics
adviser, said "...we are all living in a global chemical experiment
of which we don't know the outcome. It seems unbelievable that although
science has shown that chemicals are affecting children's mental
abilities and their ability to make sense of their world, we are
still missing vital safety data on most chemicals in use today."
In America, advocates of water fluoridation claim that the dramatic
fall in tooth decay amongst children in the past fifty years is
due primarily to the addition of fluoride to drinking water. In
1999 the Center for Disease Control nominated water fluoridation
as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century.
However, the same decline in tooth decay has occurred in virtually
every western country - most of which do not fluoridate.
What can be done
Use only non-fluoride toothpastes, refuse fluoride treatments from
your dentist. Eat a healthy organic diet and avoid processed foods.
You should, of course, avoid drinking fluoridated water.
You can participate in a letter writing campaign to stop water companies
adding fluoride to tap water by contacting the National Pure Water
Association (NPWA) www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk or www.greenparty.org.uk
This item is based on a press release
published by www.i-sis.org.uk/NotoFluoridation.php,
the article 'What you never expected to hear about water fluoridation'
by Dr Joseph Mercola published on www.mercola.com,
and a BBC news website article on a WWF chemicals review
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