Australia - Fluoride protesters on the march

Gabrielle Dunlevy
February 12, 2008 12:05pm
SUPPORTERS and opponents of the Queensland government's plans to add fluoride to the state's water supplies have converged on Parliament House.
Premier Anna Bligh announced in December that she would end a 40-year impasse over fluoride that has left Queensland children with the nation's worst teeth.
The laws will be introduced to parliament this week.
The Australian Dental Association of Queensland (ADAQ) this morning handed Ms Bligh a 25,000 signature petition in favour of the move.
Queenslanders Against Water Fluoridation president Merilyn Haines said a freedom of information inquiry by the group found the ADAQ received $200,000 from the government to promote fluoride.
Ms Haines' group this morning drew about 40 people to a protest outside Parliament House.
"If we had $200,000 I'm sure we could get a lot more than 20,000 signatures," Ms Haines told reporters at the protest.
"Most people don't really know much about fluoride - they've heard for 60 years that it's good for your teeth ... (and) you use it in toothpaste.
"You don't think about what happens when you drink it into your body ... and you accumulate it."
Ms Haines said the group would now fundraise $200,000 to launch legal action against the government.
She said there was similar legal action was underway in the US state of California.
"We are looking for some rich people who are sympathetic ... who recognise that this is forced mass medication that shouldn't be forced on us," she said.
Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Ross Cartmill said the anti-fluoride group's fears were unfounded.
"Contrary to what anti-fluoridation lobbyists tell us, we are yet to see whole populations of people living in NSW, Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory suffering from bone cancer, fluorosis, or birth abnormalities as a result (of fluoridation)," Dr Cartmill said.