FluorideAlert Newsletter
Paul
Connett in Western Australia
In the weeks leading up to election day in Western Australia, Paul Connett, PhD--FAN Senior Advisor and co-author of The Case Against Fluoride--traveled throughout the region, working with campaigners to educate the public and media before the vote.
In his WA tour he spoke in Kununurra, Yanchep, Perth, Mandurah and Margaret River. He also presented a copy of his book to Mark McGowan, the next Premier of WA. Paul also met with the Health Minister, John Day (a dentist). Even though he is staunchly pro-fluoridation Paul said they had a cordial discussion, and he left Day with the question: "Please provide citizens with a list of studies that give you the confidence to continue this practice even though there are over 300 animal and human studies that indicate that fluoride can damage the brain. We have over 300 red flags that say stop this practice where are your green flags that say go on?" Day lost his seat in the election.
Even though none of the candidates who ran for the Fluoride Free Western Australia Party won a seat in parliament, all agree that the effort was worth it. In six years these WA fluoride fighting activists have never had so much media coverage. During the election the words "fluoride free" were constantly visible in countless ways.
In the weeks leading up to election day in Western Australia, Paul Connett, PhD--FAN Senior Advisor and co-author of The Case Against Fluoride--traveled throughout the region, working with campaigners to educate the public and media before the vote.
In his WA tour he spoke in Kununurra, Yanchep, Perth, Mandurah and Margaret River. He also presented a copy of his book to Mark McGowan, the next Premier of WA. Paul also met with the Health Minister, John Day (a dentist). Even though he is staunchly pro-fluoridation Paul said they had a cordial discussion, and he left Day with the question: "Please provide citizens with a list of studies that give you the confidence to continue this practice even though there are over 300 animal and human studies that indicate that fluoride can damage the brain. We have over 300 red flags that say stop this practice where are your green flags that say go on?" Day lost his seat in the election.
Even though none of the candidates who ran for the Fluoride Free Western Australia Party won a seat in parliament, all agree that the effort was worth it. In six years these WA fluoride fighting activists have never had so much media coverage. During the election the words "fluoride free" were constantly visible in countless ways.
- Watch TV interview in Kununurra,
WA.
- Watch
Paul’s short presentation in front of
Parliament.
- Listen to a
radio program (4 minutes) that explains how Fluoride Free WA will
win upper house seat.
- Paul also
appeared in a 25-minute TV program (on WTV) that was broadcast throughout WA. It
was aired on TV three times and shared online.
Call to Government to Act on Precautionary Principle with Fluoride
“It was
petrol in the 70s and 80s - what’s the equivalent today?” presenter Petra Bagust
asked on TV3’s programme The Project, which covered this week’s news
about lead exposure lowering IQ by more than 4 points.
“The
answer is fluoride,” says Mary Byrne, National Coordinator for Fluoride Free NZ.
“All of the discussion on The Project applies to fluoride in
water.”
Using
data from the Dunedin Longitudinal study, the authors concluded that children
exposed to lead in the 1960s and 1970s have suffered 'long term ramifications'
with lower cognitive function, lower socio-economic status at age 38 years and
downward social mobility.
Leaded
petrol was not banned in New Zealand until 1996, a twenty-six year delay from
when researchers first raised the alarm bells.
Public
Health Expert, Professor Nick Wilson, was interviewed on the programme and said,
“When you are dealing with children’s intelligence, and you’re dealing with a
neurotoxin, you really have to prioritise the well-being of children. You should
take a precautionary approach so that even if all the evidence is not in,
governments need to act.”
“It is
astonishing," says Ms Byrne, "that Professor Wilson is ignoring the research
showing fluoride’s harm to the brain, which is mounting virtually by the day.
Using his own reasoning, he should be calling for the Precautionary Principle to
be applied to fluoridation now.”
According
to Professor Connett, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Toxicity, and director
the USA-based Fluoride Action Network, “Fluoride is now in the same place as
lead was in the 1970s.”
“In
humans, 51 out of 58 IQ studies have shown an association between fluoride
exposure and lowered IQ. This is a remarkable consistency when you consider that
these studies have been conducted by different authors in different geographical
areas in four different countries around the world over a period of 22 years.
There is also a consistency between animal and human studies - over 30 animal
studies show that fluoride reduces the ability to learn and memorise in maze
tests.”
Next to
the oil industry, the Ministry of Health was the main opponent to removing lead
from petrol and were supported by the Royal Society of NZ. “The government has
obviously not learnt its lesson and is now refusing to take a precautionary
approach to fluoridation despite a growing body of health professionals and
scientists calling for a halt to fluoridation,” says Ms Byrne.
A Harvard
meta-analysis of the 27 human studies on fluoride and IQ, published in the
prestigious Lancet Medical Journal, found that fluoride in water reduced IQ by
an average of seven IQ points.
The US Government is currently undertaking studies
to try to ascertain at what dose this harm occurs. In contrast, the NZ
Government is considering a new fluoridation Bill to increase fluoride
exposure.
Fluoridation chemicals also contain trace
amounts of lead and other heavy metals also known to be neurotoxins.
A number
of studies in the
past 18 years have found that fluoridation chemicals increase the uptake of
lead.
"Surely,
if ever there was a time for the Precautionary Principle to be responsibly
applied it should be now. Fluoride has been known for a long time as the
protected pollutant, but nowadays it should also be known as the protected
neurotoxin.”
Latest
Teleconference
If you
missed this month’s International Fluoride Free
Teleconference (IFFT) featuring a discussion of
the Second Step in Building a Successful Fluoride-free Campaign: choosing a
strategy, then you can listen
now on the IFFT website.
Participants explored the different pathways to victory depending on local
government structure. March’s teleconference builds on February’s
conversation: "Step 1:
Map Your Jurisdiction - Inroads to Influence".
CORRECTION: East Brunswick NJ continues to fluoridate.
In our
FAN bulletin of March 22, 2017, we reported that East Brunswick NJ ended
fluoridation. Unfortunately, this was not correct. According to a February 9,
2017 press report: “The Health Advisory Council recommended that East
Brunswick should not continue to purchase fluoride," said Councilman Michael
Spadafino, chairman of the Health Advisory Committee. The use of fluoridation
has long been a subject of discussion at East Brunswick Council
meetings… However, the full council has not yet voted on a resolution to end
the fluoridation of water in the township.” EB Township Council: Busy, Contentious
Meeting Starts Budget Process. Please accept our
apologies.
Latest Fluoride News
-Fluoride-Lobby Spending Large Sums to
Oppose Durango April 4 Vote (Colorado)
-Vermont Legislature Looks at Fluoridation (Vermont)
-Vermont Legislature Looks at Fluoridation (Vermont)
Sincerely,
See all FAN bulletins online
posted by Bill at
7:49 PM
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