Livestream of the FAN Conference
Livestream of the FAN
Conference
The 6th Citizens Conference on Fluoride
in Washington DC will be broadcast live, thanks to Clint Griess and the
International Fluoride Free Teleconference! Tune in Saturday and Sunday to watch
many amazing presentations. You'll also catch behind-the-scenes moments with
candid interviews with top scientists and
campaigners.
Some sessions (TBA) will not be broadcast
due to sensitive content. See complete schedule below (all times Eastern US). No
login or password required to watch.
PRESS RELEASE:
FAN’s
Sixth International Conference on Fluoride:
“When Policy is King, Science becomes a Slave.”
This coming weekend (Sept 16, 17) the
Fluoride Action Network (www.FluorideACTION.net ) will be bringing together citizens and
scientists from around the world, to the Regency Hyatt hotel in Crystal City,
VA, in an effort to educate the public, the media and decision-makers about the
dangers of swallowing fluoride.“When Policy is King, Science becomes a Slave.”
According to Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, Paul Connett, “the purpose of the conference is to rescue “genuine” science from policy makers at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Our citizens deserve protection, not propaganda .”
Saturday attendees will hear a presentation from Dr. Stephen Peckham (University of Kent, UK) who will talk about a study he co-authored linking fluoride exposure to lowered thyroid function. Also speaking will be Dr. William Hirzy, a former risk assessment specialist at the EPA, whose recent paper quantifies the risk fluoride poses to the developing brains of children (http://fluoridealert.org/content/28568-2/ )
On Sunday, lawyers Michael Connett and Chris Nidel will discuss FAN’s lawsuit calling on the EPA to ban the deliberate addition of fluoride to drinking water under provisions in the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA) because of the overwhelming evidence that fluoride is neurotoxic.
According to Connett, “The very last children who should be exposed to a neurotoxic substance are children from low-income families, precisely those targeted for fluoridation by myopic zealots at the Oral Health Division of the CDC.”
On Monday, conference attendees will lobby Congress to amend legislation which could authorize millions more in federal grants for use by special interests to directly influence state and municipal decisions on water fluoridation.
“As written, H.R.2422 will be used to directly subsidize lobbying efforts for fluoridation by state dental industry associations. This will stifle local decision-making, override freedom of choice and continue to expose citizens to a dangerous toxic substance,” says Stuart Cooper, FAN Campaign Director.
According to FAN’s interim director and
dentist Bill Osmunson, DDS, MPH, “For 25 years I promoted fluoridation, but when
I read the literature more closely it was like a knee in the gut. We are
subjecting our children to unnecessary risks. We need the media to do their
homework and not just accept at face value glowing endorsements from the dental
lobby and government agencies."
HELP FAN AMEND BILL IN
CONGRESS
Legislation has passed out of the
Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee that could waste millions in federal
tax-dollars on grants to state dental lobbying organizations’ efforts to force
fluoridation on states and municipalities across the
country. H.R. 2422, called the Action for Dental Health Act of 2017, is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and add to existing oral health promotion programs through 2022, at a cost of $160 million over 5 years for taxpayers. A significant portion of this money will most certainly be used by state dental associations to fund pro-fluoridation lobbying campaigns in communities that are currently not fluoridated, have recently rejected fluoridation, or are considering an end to fluoridation. No town with a public water supply in any state will be safe from fluoridation lobbying efforts if this passes.
At first glance, directing federal funds through CDC grants to innovative dental programs for the poor and underserved seems like a good idea. However, two vague sections of the bill, which don’t mention fluoridation specifically, are intended to authorize the use of federal funds for the promotion of the practice by state dental associations and their affiliated local and regional astroturfing campaigns. The American Dental Association (ADA) was instrumental in working with sponsors to develop this bill for their own benefit.
Section e(1)A authorizes grants “to stake holders to develop and implement initiatives…to improve oral health education and dental disease prevention, including through community-wide prevention programs…” Section e(2)A authorizes grants to dental lobbying organizations by making “eligible entities” out of “State or local dental associations,” and “community-based organizations.”
While fluoridation isn’t mentioned in the text, and wasn’t mentioned in the ADA’s lobbying materials or in their representative’s testimony in favor of the bill, it is a primary part of their Action for Dental Health Initiative, as well as the current federal law the bill amends. Effectively, by leaving controversial fluoridation language out of the bill, and replacing it with vague authorization, the ADA has successfully tricked House committee members.
Similar bills were introduced during the both of the past two congressional sessions, but failed, along with H.R.416; the sponsors of which had collected hundreds-of-thousands of dollars combined in contributions from the dental lobby over a two-year period. Just like before, with your help we can ensure this bill is either amended to prohibit funding for the promotion of fluoridation, or suffers the same fate as the previous legislation.
If you want to maximize your impact, please call your congressional offices and leave a message. Telephone numbers are provided for each official when you click on the link below and enter your zip code. Please take an extra minute or two to call your House member's D.C. office and explain that you're a voting constituent who opposes HR2422, the Action for Dental Health Act of 2017 as written and you expect your representative to support an amendment to prohibit using CDC grants to fund fluoridation lobbying by special interests, or oppose the bill if it remains un-amended. A 2 minute call is worth 100 emails!
Sincerely,
See all FAN bulletins online
posted by Bill at
9:16 AM
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