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UK Against Fluoridation

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The Cornish children with tooth decay by the time they start school

teeth dentistNew figures have revealed the shock number of Cornish children starting school with fillings, tooth decay or missing teeth.

The statistics from Public Health England show one in five in the Duchy has problems by the time they reach five-years-old. The total is 21% and it comes as the organisation launches its Change4Life campaign, urging parents to cut sugary snacks and drinks.

Dentists like Elise Helps are backing it: "There are particular types of bacteria that like to feed off the sugar and basically create enzymes and acids that will actually soften and break down the enamel which is the hard surface of the tooth. "Once that hard surface is broken down, that bacteria can actually start to break down the tooth even further.

"Actually by having constant attacks - so by regularly having sugar actually in your mouth - unfortunately that weakens it further and further. "Our recommendation is always to try and keep sugar to a minimum. Keep it to meal times and maybe one other time as a snack".

Public Health England will be working with dental teams in the south-west to give sugar the brush off and help parents change the snacks they give their children.

Its Change4Life campaign advises families to look for 100 calorie snacks, 2 a day max, after research showed children were eating nearly three times the recommended amount of sugar; with half coming from snacks and sugary drinks.

Too much sugar not only leads to weight gain and obesity but also painful dental decay. In the South West an average of 21.7% of five year-olds have decayed, missing or filled teeth.

To help fill in the gaps of people's sugar-busting knowledge, dentists from the region are signing up to the Change4Life public health campaign. With the help of the Top Tips for Teeth dental toolkit they are sharing messages and advice with parents who come into their surgeries about the best ways to prevent tooth decay in children.......

Australia - Fluoride survey

The survey conducted by the Bega Valley Council on fluoridating our water supply was flawed. The question asked if you want fluoride in the water to prevent tooth decay. It didn’t ask if you want poor health as a consequence. I didn't receive a phone call about the survey nor did anyone I know. The survey should have been sent out to all ratepayers. Fluoride is far more effective in toothpaste than drinking water will ever be and our health won't suffer as a consequence. And it goes without saying that fluoridation is an expense the ratepayers don't need thrust upon them. 
Brad Staker, Merimbula

UK - Plymouth people 'being sent 70 miles away to Seaton' to see dentist



More than 9,000 people are currently waiting for an NHS Dentist in Plymouth, including 1,677 children and young people under the age of 18.
A total of 9,127 people within the city are stuck on waiting lists for routine appointments, according to figures presented at this week's city council meeting.

“If you ring NHS England to request a dentist, there’s a strong possibility that you and your family will be offered Seaton in Devon,” said Labour Councillor Sue McDonald. “There and back, that’s six hours out of a day.”
Dr Ruth Harrell, Plymouth’s Director of Public Health, was instructed by councillors to write to NHS England requesting “urgent local action to improve access to NHS Dentists”.
Dr Harrell will also contact Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, demanding rapid improvements in access to NHS Dentistry.

Cllr Lynda Bowyer, Conservative cabinet member for health and social care, highlighted that only 54.4 per cent of Plymouth’s population had access to NHS dental services in the 24 months prior to August 2017.

She said a big part of the problem was the difficulty Plymouth dental services have in recruiting staff to the city.

“This is reducing the amount of NHS work and consequently the number of patients who can be seen,” said Cllr Bowyer.

But she also told the meeting that NHS England had bought additional NHS work from practices in Plymouth, with 5 practices offering more NHS appointments in 2017/18.

“This has the potential to provide places for an additional 6,000 people.”

Councillors also suggested that children not able to get an NHS dentist could be seen more quickly by students, overseen by supervisors, at the Peninsula School of Dentistry.

But Cllr Bowyer acknowledged this was a “short term solution” to the problem.

Also revealed at the meeting was that, from April 2014 to March 2017, there were 2073 extractions of teeth from children under the age of 17 requiring a general anaesthetic took place at Derriford.

Cllr McDonald highlighted the importance of early intervention and prevention when it came to tooth decay, and criticised the fact that protective fluoride coatings are not universally applied in Plymouth.

She listed some of the consequences of tooth decay: “Infections, bad breath, difficulties in eating, sleeping, speech, poor alignment of permanent teeth… a young person too embarrassed to smile.”
According to Cllr Bowyer, deprived areas of the city have a higher number of tooth extractions, with Efford seeing the highest rate and Compton seeing the lowest.

24 schools are being targeted in a drive to increase the number of children being given fluoride coatings.
Councillors also demanded action from the government over the ongoing NHS and adult social care crisis.

Following the recent letter to the government that highlighted the ongoing difficulties in the NHS, and which was signed by Dr Anne Hicks on behalf of the Emergency Department at Derriford, it was agreed that the council would write to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, urging action.

USA - Look into effects fluoridation has on body

The village of Potsdam will soon be making a decision whether to continue or discontinue chemical fluoridation (medicating) the public water supply. In order to comply with Public Health Law 1100 passed in 2015 and pressed into law by pro-fluoridation advocates, the law states village administration must consult local health officials and offer an alternative solution providing chemical fluoridation (medication) to municipal residents before actually discontinuing fluoridation.
Here is a sensible and feasible alternative solution for all “stakeholders” involved. In attendance at one specific Potsdam village meeting were some local dental professionals who adamantly advocated for continued use of chemical fluoridation. The fluoridation in question is specifically hydro-fluorosilicic acid, a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer manufacturing.
Since these dental professionals are sincerely concerned about the dental health of our community, I would humbly suggest and call upon them to put their “money where our mouths are” and come to the aid of the community providing chemical fluoridation for those local residents who so desire chemical fluoridation medication vs. chemically fluoridating (medicating) the public water supply.
I will personally contribute one year of the financial cost I personally incur in the water purification (chemical fluoride filtration removal) of my public drinking water that I pay handsomely for. Yes, I pay to have chemical fluoridation introduced into my water supply and then pay to remove it.
I would implore everyone to research for themselves the adverse effects that ingesting and bathing in chemical fluoridation has on the human body. Chemical fluoridation is a known neurotoxin, endocrine disruptor and wreaks havoc on thyroid function.
While I applaud our dental professionals’ concern for our dental health, it is unfortunate that many in the dental community wear “blinders.” The dental coalition seems to only think about dental health and the supposed good it does for teeth while neglecting all aspects of the rest of the body.
In addition, to this date no one in the village administration has replied (officially) concerning the elevated lead levels in our local schools and what research they have conducted into this matter. They have been provided much creditable information concerning water fluoridation and elevated lead levels in the water supply.
Please take the time and look into this matter, and voice your concerns to your local elected officials.
Dean Laubscher

Picture 1 of 1

5000ppm?

NZ - Why is Coleman so afraid of the latest science on fluoridation?

Why is Coleman so afraid of latest science on fluoridation
Press Release: Fluoride Free New Zealand

National Health spokesperson, Jonathan Coleman, is castigating the Government for allowing the latest science on fluoridation to be aired. "This is now going to unfairly colour the debate and raise questions in people's minds, especially MPs who are going to vote on these Bills" says Coleman.

It is hard to fathom why listening to both sides of an issue will "unfairly" colour the debate.

Prof Paul Connett is booked to give a presentation to all Parliamentarians in February during his speaking tour of New Zealand. He will explain the latest science on fluoride’s adverse health effects - particularly the growing research on the link between fluoride and the lowering of IQ.

A multi-million-dollar landmark US Government funded study published last year found that children who were exposed to fluoride in utero (at the same levels NZ children are exposed to) caused a drop of around five IQ points. This study was carried out by researchers in the top Universities of North America, such as Harvard, Michigan, Toronto and McGill who accounted for all the confounding factors they could think of. This comes on top of the 52 (out of 58) human studies and hundreds of animal studies that have also found fluoride interferes with brain function.

For Jonathan Coleman to call this "junk science" is preposterous.

New Zealand is one of the few remaining countries that still has fluoridation. 98% of Europe has rejected it. Ministry of Health statistics from 2009 (the latest available) show that over 40% of New Zealand children have some form of dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is the first outward sign of fluoride poisoning. The evidence that New Zealand children are being put in harms way is now overwhelming.

Fluoride Free New Zealand congratulates the Government for not being bullied by the likes of Jonathan Coleman and others - who are now showing signs of desperation to keep people away from the information.

Prof Connett will be speaking in a number of towns and cities that are not fluoridated. Prof Connett holds a B.A. (Honours) in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University, England and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Dartmouth College. He is a world leading expert in fluoridation and has spoken in fifty-two countries on this issue and the issue of Waste Management. Details of his Talks can be found at www.fluoridefree.org.nz

ENDS

Yet another fluoride-IQ study

Yet another fluoride-IQ study

As with most of these fluoride-IQ studies this one is only relevant to areas of endemic fluorosis (This is from a UNESCO paper and has been corrected for New Zealand. Identification of fluorosis in a country does not imply the whole country is high fluoride).
Yes, it’s a bit like groundhog day. Another fluoride-IQ study – and we expect this to be followed by another round of claims by anti-fluoride propagandists that this is the death knell to community water fluoridation. That this study provides the “irrefutable proof” that fluoride is a “neurotoxin.”
But that interpretation is completely wrong. This new study does nothing of the sort – in fact, quite the opposite.
The new study is:
Now, why is this study absolutely useless for those opposing community water fluoridation?....................
I'm sure Ken Perrott will tell us why. Nothing will ever change his mind like mine. I just don't want it put into drinking water. 

Tuesday, January 30, 2018



Showing water in Ontario? Anybody know why it looks so polluted? Can't be that bad.

NZ - Nats slam Government MPs over plan to host anti-fluoride group at Parliament

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her party has not changed its stance on fluoridation, despite two Government ...Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her party has not changed its stance on fluoridation, despite two Government ...STACEY KIRK

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her party has not changed its stance on fluoridation, despite two Government backbench MPs hosting an anti-fluoride movement at Parliament.


The Prime Minister has been forced to clarify Labour's stance on fluoridation, after it was confirmed two Government MPs plan to host an anti-fluoride group at Parliament.

Prominent US anti-fluoride campaigner Paul Connett is understood to be briefing MPs at Parliament in the coming weeks, hosted by Labour backbencher Duncan Webb and NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft.

Legislation to allow DHBs, rather than district councils, to decide whether a town water supply should be fluoridated, is before the House awaiting a second reading.
It was introduced by the last Government and passed through an extensive public select committee process, before the committee MPs recommend it be passed with some minor additional funding changes.
Public drinking water currently supplies about 85 per cent of the population. Of those on public water supplies, 54 per cent receive fluoridated water. New Zealand had high levels of tooth decay and placing the issue under the authority of health boards was expected to increase fluoridation across the country.
Connett is to be brought to New Zealand by Fluoride Free New Zealand, to hold a number public briefings on their position throughout the regions.

But National Party health spokesman Jonathan Coleman has said the information being peddled by the group and Connett is "junk science" and dangerous.

He questioned why those views would be treated as expert opinion in a briefing to MPs.
"I'm very disappointed to see that that's happening, and the question to the Labour Party has to be do they support fluoridation or not?

"At the time the Labour Party broadly said they supported that. Now you've got two Government MPs hosting anti-fluoride campaigners in Parliament... and the fact that we've got two Government MPs hosting that meeting would seem to indicate they don't any more," he said.

Fluoridation has been labelled one of the greatest health advances of the 20th century by the World Health Organisation. Coleman said the issue was "clear cut".

"They need to say if they support fluoridation or not. If they support fluoridation, which is the single best way to improve the oral health of children and adults in New Zealand - but especially adults - they wouldn't be listening to the junk science and the dangerous views that Fluoride Free New Zealand are promulgating.

"A lot of the stuff they're saying is extremely misleading. But the weight of medical and scientific experience supports fluoridation so I don't know why these MPs are spending their time there."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the meeting was discussed by the Labour caucus before it was agreed the MPs could host the group. But that was in the interests of a representative Parliament.

"We had a caucus discussion. Someone made an approach, they wanted to be able to offer a briefing to MPs - many groups ask for the opportunity to brief MPs on issues.

"And they'll be issues we don't always agree with, it's just whether or not we allow them access to talk openly about their position on an issue," Ardern said.

Labour had not changed its position on fluoride.

"It does not change our view and Health Select Committee has also provided access to those groups to share their view. It does not mean we've changed our position. It's just about letting people have their say regardless of whether we agree with them or not."

 - Stuff

Monday, January 29, 2018

Fluoride is not only pointless, it’s a health risk

There are concerns about fluoride’s effect on IQ. And the cost of fluoridation far exceeds its claimed benefit
By Dr. Bob Dicksonand Dr. Hardy Limeback
Contributors
The fluoridation debate is still very much alive in Calgary, where pro-fluoridation advocates have had a field day, citing claims that seemingly support their position. Many of those claims are either misleading or completely incorrect.
A recent letter in the Calgary Herald signed by 22 dentists, doctors, academics and periodontists claimed, “more than 3,000 peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that fluoridation is effective and support its safety.”
In fact, not a single properly conducted drug trial (randomized, double-blinded) has ever been conducted on fluoridation. The globally respected Cochrane Collaboration found a meagre 19 valid non-randomized studies, all with weaker designs. Only three of those were conducted since 1975.

Bob
Dickson

The letter also claimed “fluoride is 26 to 44 per cent effective in reducing cavities.” This is based on old, weak science. At most, the benefit from fluoridation is perhaps one filling saved per person over 40 years.
Calgary city council decided in 2011 to eliminate fluoridation, a decision that was supported by four previous plebiscites.
The move is both a cost-saver and good for children. It would cost Calgarians at least $50 million to fluoridate for 40 years. That’s about $450 in taxes per filling, much more than the cost of a filling. And worse, many children will end up with dental fluorosis (in the U.S., where fluoridation is common, fluorosis in teens has skyrocketed to 58 per cent), a problem that local dentists state can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Thus, the cost of fluoridation far exceeds its claimed benefit.
Fluoridation advocates also claimed fluoride occurs naturally in Calgary water at concentrations of 0.1 to 0.4 parts per million (ppm), and that fluoridation merely entails topping it up to 0.7 ppm. If Calgary’s water supply already contains up to 0.4 ppm naturally, then ‘topping it up to 0.7 ppm’ will do little to prevent cavities, especially when there are so many other proven sources of fluoride, such as toothpaste, dental treatments and inexpensive prescriptions.

Hardy Limieback
Hardy
Limeback

These claims are based on research led by Dr. Lindsay McLaren, published in February 2016. But that research was unable to show an effect of fluoridation cessation after 2011 in Calgary. The study itself noted it had many limitations.
Why, then, do some dentists and orthodontists in Calgary claim that things are much worse since fluoridation was discontinued? Such a claim is anecdotal and unscientific, and not all dentists agree with it. Policy should be made not on claims but on properly conducted clinical study.
There are also concerns about fluoride’s effect on IQ.
A study published on Sept. 19, 2017, and funded by the National Institutes of Health, showed pregnant mothers in Mexico, with fluoride consumption at similar levels as pregnant mothers when Calgary was fluoridated, had offspring with significantly lowered IQ. This carefully controlled study raises serious questions about the safety of fluoridation for infants.
Dentists in Alberta – who are not toxicologists – continue to push for fluoridation when nearly all communities in B.C., Quebec and Europe have eliminated the practice. Perhaps citizens and professionals in those jurisdictions know something Calgary dentists don’t.
In fact, more than 4,000 professionals worldwide have publicly called for an end to fluoridation.
Well-intentioned fluoridation proponents say they’re helping children and the poor. Ironically, and sadly, it’s infants, kids, the underprivileged, the chronically ill, elderly and people of colour who are most susceptible to harm from fluoridation.
Medical science has frequently made errors. Medical and dental associations have endorsed smoking, asbestos, lead, BPA, mercury, thalidomide, Vioxx and many others. Just as they were wrong then, they’re wrong again.
Fluoride, after all, is not necessary for any body function, unlike calcium, vitamins B and D, or iodine, which are essential to health, or chlorination, which kills organisms before they reach our bodies.
Let’s roll up our sleeves and create the equivalent of Scotland’s Child Smile program, which has shown spectacular results since 2001 in improving dental health and overall health for their children.
Together we can make a major impact on the well-being of our children without medicating our water.
Robert C. Dickson, MD, CCFP, FCFP, is a community physician in Calgary and is the founder of Safe Water Calgary (www.safewatercalgary.com). Hardy Limeback, PhD, DDS, is the recently retired head of preventive dentistry at the University of Toronto.

Sunday, January 28, 2018




Global Health News Episode #15 || Fluoride Dangers | Black Pepper Benefits | Declining Vaccines

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Australia - Letter | Why revisit the follies of fluoridation

FELLOW residents, the time has come again to discuss the state’s controversial fluoridation policy. The Oberon people decisively rejected state government backed fluoridation of our water four years ago, and it may be time to dust off and have at it again, as council have decided to decide whether or not to review the original decision. 
Back in the day good dental health in children was a parental responsibility, not a government one; and the government ought to butt out of this one permanently. The state may spruik the high number of fluoridated precincts in NSW, but can’t deny 23 Queensland councils have voted to remove it. Why is that? Or that first world governments such as Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Hungary, Japan and Israel have openly rejected it. Why? 
Why is NSW Health so far behind on this issue? Can’t they read what is accepted mainstream news/policy outside of our national media? Fluoride should have gone the way of thalidomide, thimerosal, Ritalin and other terrible “government approved” ideas of the past. 
A year’s supply of all the pharmaceutical grade fluoride you officially need (if you still feel you do) is in one small tube of Colgate (which you spit out, not swallow – hence the poison warning). A good parent with the foresight to enforce a regime of proper dental care in their kids is the best method by far to guarantee our town kids have great teeth.  
If the state and council are really that worried about the people’s dentition, we should invest in promoting good dental hygiene practices that specifically target people’s needs, not dubiously mass medicating the group with random doses of an obviously highly questionable industrial grade, aluminium smelter waste product. Think of the money we’d save. 
I would strongly urge the people considering getting involved in this matter for the first time to make up their own minds after reviewing the data available, not just accepting the official narrative as gospel. Heretical views against perceived unlawful or unethical government policies is a fair and free right in a democracy such as ours.
We should seek the truth in all things, even when it makes us uncomfortable or unpopular.

Chris Freeman

Australia - FFWA

When the Queen drinks water, she is drinking non-fluoridated London water. In fact, only 11 per cent of the United Kingdom - with a population of 65 million - has toxic "fluoride" in its tap water, compared to around 89 per cent of Australians and a staggering 92 per cent of West Australians. Happy Australia Day!!! And yet, isn't it interesting that the UK has one of the lowest rates of tooth decay in the western world? Who would have guessed?
And how many Australians know where this "fluoride" comes from? Would it make any difference if they knew that the "fluoride" added to our drinking water is actually called hexafluorosilicic acid - a highly-toxic industrial waste by-product created in the processing of phosphate fertilizer? "No, it couldn't be.....could it???"
"But it's quite safe, isn't it?" Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council states that the only harm arising from water Fluoridation and total dietary fluoride intake is dental fluorosis.
The following link provides a quick reference to harms known by toxicologists to be caused by Fluoride, including those still under intensive research and recognized by other administrations.
www.researchgate.net/publication/318876264_A_Quick_Guide_to_Fluoride_Harms
It's a no brainer.....every day is Australia Day and every day we should be saying..."GET FLUORIDE OUT OF OUR WATER"!

Is that right, do we have the lowest rates?

Dr Mercola - Properly Filter Your Water

Story at-a-glance

filtering household waterIf you care about your health, filtering your household water is more a necessity than an option
Drinking water is becoming increasingly toxic worldwide, thanks to aging water pipes and chemical pollution. Water treatment plants cannot filter out all of the toxins now entering the water

One of the most pernicious toxins in American water supplies is fluoride. While fluoride isn’t healthy for anyone, pregnant women and households mixing formula for babies should take extra care to avoid fluoridated water

A 2017 analysis of water samples from 50,000 water utilities in 50 states revealed more than 267 different kinds of toxins in U.S. tap water. To find out what’s in your tap water, check out the EWG Tap Water Database

Ideally, filter the water you use both for drinking and bathing, as immersing yourself in contaminated water may be even more hazardous to your health than drinking it

Friday, January 26, 2018

EPA: Courts should limit scope when reviewing citizen petitions under TSCA

Fluoride case may set a precedent
Law - gavel © Africa Studio - Fotolia.comIn reviewing citizen petitions for chemical regulation under the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), courts should only consider information originally presented to the EPA in administrative proceedings, the agency has argued.
The EPA made the argument in connection with a lawsuit brought by a group of NGOs demanding that the agency ban the addition of fluoride to drinking water. This case could end up setting precedent for how the judiciary handles citizen petitions under TSCA, and may also have implications for a separate legal dispute over the EPA’s implementation of TSCA’s risk evaluation mandates.
In a December ruling, the court rejected both the agency’s request to dismiss the case and its contention that citizen petitions must address all potential conditions of use, rather than demanding action against one use of a chemical.
The administrative action underlying the case is the EPA’s February 2017 denial of a petition by organisations campaigning against fluoridation of drinking water. The agency argued that other uses must be addressed as well as disputing the scientific evidence of neurotoxicity that the NGOs presented.
The issue, addressed by legal papers submitted in January, is whether the NGOs can submit information beyond that already presented in their petition to the EPA and demand that the agency provide additional information to the court.
Section 21, the part of TSCA providing for citizen petitions, states that when the EPA denies one, "the petitioner shall be provided an opportunity to have such petition considered by the court in a de novo proceeding."
The EPA argues that the words "such petition" should limit consideration to information in the administrative record.
The NGOs’ interpretation would allow a petitioner to argue one set of facts and then seek a judicial order for regulation "based on a completely different set of facts," the EPA says in its filing. In addition, the EPA says, the NGOs have not identified what additional facts they wish to present or seek.
The NGOs contend that a "de novo proceeding" by definition involves creation of a new record, and that Section 21 draws a distinction between administrative proceedings and the higher level of evidence "required to prevail in district court."

Broader Implications

A separate group of NGOs filed petitions in August 2017 for court review of the final framework rules, arguing they do not faithfully implement the 2016 TSCA amendments.
One of the major issues in dispute is what "conditions of use" must be considered in risk evaluation. In that case, the NGOs are arguing that TSCA requires consideration of all possible uses – the interpretation the EPA wishes to apply to citizen petitions in the fluoride case.
The proceedings in the fluoride case may take on additional importance as it is being argued in a federal district court in California. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit would hear an appeal of the eventual decision. This is the court that will decide the TSCA framework cases.

House of Lords


Photo of Lord Smith of LeighLord Smith of Leigh Labour


.........Although health and social care needs more money, the fundamental problems are such that we cannot just put more money in. We need to change the NHS from being an ill-health service, which, on the whole, it does pretty well, to a proper health service. I wonder whether anyone has read the recent report on children’s dental health. We are spending money on repairing and replacing children’s teeth instead of simply getting them to clean their teeth. Yesterday’s Times reported on lifestyles which are likely to cause long-term problems. People will be four or more times likely to develop chronic conditions by the time they get to 65, and that will mean more pressure on the NHS. Unless we put more effort and energy into prevention and early intervention, the extra demand will eventually overwhelm not just the NHS but government overall.................


Photo of Lord Hunt of Kings HeathLord Hunt of Kings HeathShadow Spokesperson (Cabinet Office), Shadow Spokesperson (Education), Shadow Spokesperson (Health and Social Care) 3:56 pm, 25th January 2018

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to respond to my noble friend’s debate. As my noble friend Lord Smith mentioned oral health in the north-west, I remind the House that I am president of the British Fluoridation Society, which of course is the answer, at a stroke, to the dreadful oral health issues among children in Greater Manchester and the north-west generally....


Thursday, January 25, 2018



Worth seeing again.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

NZ - Editorial: Christchurch's water safety move is vital but why the delay?

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, left, and Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey tell media about the ...
IAIN MCGREGOR/STUFF
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, left, and Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey tell media about the need to add chlorine to water.
EDITORIAL: In the wake of the Havelock North crisis, when thousands were affected and at least four people were killed by contaminated drinking water, it is no great surprise to learn that the Christchurch City Council is considering temporary chlorination of the city's water. Instead, the surprise came when it was revealed that the council took more than a month to tell the public. 
As Mayor Lianne Dalziel explained at a media conference on Tuesday, the pivotal report from the Canterbury Water Assessor landed at council in the middle of the afternoon on Friday, December 22. Council must have been as good as closed for the year because the report "wasn't brought to high enough attention in the organisation", as Dalziel said. 
Another three weeks passed before the Mayor heard, on January 15. The councillors were briefed in the same week.  
One of them, Cr Mike Davidson, said he was disappointed that it took nearly four weeks before he and his fellow councillors were informed. 
There are arguably two political failures that reflect poorly on the council as an organisation. The first is a perception that the council takes the summer off and is slow to inform even its most central figures of something as important and, this being Christchurch, potentially divisive as a plan to chlorinate drinking water. 
The second is a perception, likely to be more damaging than the first, that the council is still less effective than it could be at communicating with the public. Less than 12 months have passed since the Port Hills fires, which were marked by confusion between authorities and a terrified public that was desperate for useful information. Dalziel said in February 2017 that she took responsibility for that breakdown in communication and a plan to improve emergency communication has followed.
While the news about chlorination does not qualify as an emergency, some in Christchurch will wonder if the council has really absorbed the lessons of last summer.
Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey's answer to media questions about delayed information is that there was no risk of imminent contamination and therefore no need for a boil water notice to be issued to the public. The city's drinking water remains safe. 
Chlorination itself is nothing to be afraid of, despite public concern that verges on paranoia about officials "tampering" with pure water – the quickest way to start an argument in Christchurch is to ask about fluoride. Few minded when water was chlorinated for nearly a year after the 2011 earthquake
Chlorination is again the right short-term solution while wells are made secure from the possible contamination that follows heavy rainfall. As Humphrey says, while the risk is slight the consequences of water contamination would be disastrous. No one wants a repeat of Havelock North. 
It is the job of councils and health officials to be vigilant. A Government inquiry released in December 2017, again prompted by Havelock North, found that 20 per cent of national water supplies are still not up to standard, affecting more than 750,000 people. That report will have sharpened the minds of those monitoring water in Christchurch. 
 - The Press

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Nixa receives CDC water fluoridation award

COVER: Nixa City Hall
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recently announced that 19 Missouri public water systems — including Nixa Water District — have been awarded a Water Fluoridation Quality Award from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in drinking water to a level that is effective for preventing tooth decay. The award recognizes communities that achieved excellence in community water fluoridation by maintaining a consistent level of fluoride in drinking water throughout 2016.
For 2016, a total of 1,360 public water systems in 29 states received these awards, including those in Missouri.
“Water fluoridation is one of the best investments that a community can make to maintain the oral health of its citizens.  It is equally as effective in preventing cavities in children and adults,” states Casey Hannan, MPH, acting director, CDC Division of Oral Health. 
Fluoridation is highly cost effective. Studies continue to show that for every $1 a community invests in water fluoridation, $38 are saved in dental treatment costs.
Community water fluoridation has been recognized by CDC as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th Century. CDC recommends water fluoridation as one of the most practical, cost-effective, equitable and safe measures a community can take to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health.

I find this a weird practice like giving a star for well behaved young school children.

F.A/N. Newsletter

Virginia residents and professionals, your help is needed!  
We have just learned that the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors is considering an end to the fluoridation of the public drinking water of over 100,000 citizens.  The decision will also impact the city of Fredericksburg, which gets its water from Spotsylvania’s Motts Run Water Treatment Plant.
The Board of Supervisors will be hosting pro-fluoridation presentations from the dental industry and their lobbyists.  However, at the beginning of the meeting (at 6:02pm) there is a public comment period, where each participant will get at least 3-minutes to speak in favor of ENDING FLUORIDATION. 
If you can attend this important meeting to express your opposition to fluoridation, please do so.  The Board of Supervisors appears to be leaning in favor of ending the practice, but they want to hear from professionals, parents and local consumers:   
What: Fluoridation Hearing
When: Tuesday, January 22, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Where: 9104 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania, VA 22553
Agenda for meeting: https://spotsylvania.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/
If you cannot personally attend the meeting, please email you testimony to the board members:
Make sure to start off with “I support the proposal to end fluoridation.”  Please keep your emails polite and focused on the scientific and ethical arguments against fluoridation (see example talking points below). 
While county supervisors need to hear from all area residents, they especially need to hear from Virginia medical, scientific, legal, and engineering professionals.  Your opposition, expert advice, and testimony could easily mean the difference between success and failure.   
They also need to hear from those who have been negatively impacted by fluoride.  Our government has admitted that they’ve overexposed at least 57% of adolescents to fluoride, resulting in dental fluorosis and likely a host of other ailments.  Studies have also shown that fluoridation is likely linked to higher rates of ADHD, hypothyroidism, and osteoarthritis.  If you or your family have felt the impact of overexposure to fluoride, then it’s crucial that officials hear your story since the dental-lobby claims that there are no victims of fluoride.

Please send your emails today so we can end fluoridation in Spotsylvania County.  It’s your health, your water, your tax dollars, and ought to be your choice.
When contacting the board of supervisors, here are some points we suggest making:
-A new study linked fluoride exposure in utero to lower IQ in kids.
-Increasing fluoride levels will increase overexposure and dental fluorosis.
-Fluoride chemicals have been shown to increase lead levels in drinking water.
-Over 100 animal experiments and 50 human studies link fluoride consumption to a decrease in IQ, with fluoride now labeled a developmental neurotoxicant.
-A recent study has linked fluoridation to increases in ADHD.
-A recent study has linked fluoridation to increases in hypothyroidism.
-A Cochrane Group review found no quality research proving benefit from fluoridation but did find a clear connection to fluorosis.
-Over 235 communities have rejected fluoridation since 2010. 
Here is additional information and talking points:

Sincerely,
Stuart Cooper
Campaign Director
Fluoride Action Network
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