F.A.N. newsletter

The missing words are "scientific integrity," and that is why what you see in this video is so important, but first some background information.

Over the coming weeks, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) will be releasing video clips from the recent public hearing on fluoridation in Calgary, which ended the practice in 2011.  However, due to sustained lobbying pressure by the dental lobby to restart fluoridation. It will also be the first significant test to see if the pro-fluoride lobby can successfully convince politicians, the media, and the public to ignore the growing number of studies showing harm, including the latest study from JAMA Pediatrics and the National Toxicology Program’s conclusion that fluoride is a "presumed cognitive neurodevelopmental hazard to humans.” 

The vote in Calgary will likely have a global impact, and the fluoride-lobby is aware of this, which is why our first video clip is so important.  In this video presentation, made available by the Calgary City Council, Dr. William Ghali, MD, MPH and neurology specialist Dr. Aravind Ganesh, MD, both of the University of Calgary's O’Brien Institute for Public Health, exemplify scientific integrity by reporting on the neurotoxic effects of fluoride, and admonishing attempts to downplay the importance and relevance of a growing body of scientific evidence.

(Click on graphic for video)

Their acknowledgements and conclusions are incredibly damning for the fluoridation-lobby, who have relied heavily upon the mantras that the science is settled, that no studies have found harm, and that no mainstream public health organizations have questioned fluoridation’s safety.  Please note that in the introduction to this video Paul may have given the impression that Dr Ghali explicitly stated that the reason that they didn't endorse fluoridation was because of these important neurotoxicity studies.  Paul has clarified that Dr. Ghali did not, but that was his interpretation of the events.  

The science is in.  No reasonable parent would trade less than one cavity saved for a lifetime of cognitive impairment for their child.  We can easily fix a cavity, but we cannot fix damage done to the brain.  Only an overall lack of integrity from the agencies and organizations that continue to promote this practice is preventing the public and decision-makers from seeing that.

Both Dr Ghali and Dr. Ganesh have given us hope that scientific integrity will once again inform public health issues. But they are not alone. Someone at the NIH had integrity when they approved funding for studies that set out to investigate fluoride’s impact on the developing brain which spawned the excellent studies by Bashash et al., 2017; Till et al. 2019; and Green et al., 2019. Decision-makers at the NIEHS had integrity when they approved FAN’s request in 2015 to review all the studies published on fluoride’s neurotoxicity and released to the public their shattering report (in draft form) that fluoride is a “presumed cognitive neurodevelopmental hazard to humans” and  can cause neurotoxic deficits for infants at levels at - or very close - to the levels of exposure in fluoridated communities.

FAN will continue – with your help - to push for scientific integrity on this matter with our website, with our bulletins, with our videos, with our public presentations, with our many written submissions to government agencies an with our TSCA lawsuit.

Yesterday we raised $3,220 from 27 donors for a grand total to $12,032 from 43 donors​, on our way to our goal of raising $250,000 from 1250 donors by midnight on December 31st.  Please consider giving a tax-deductible donation to continue our critical work to protect our water, our health, our children's brains, our personal freedom, and help get scientific integrity back into public health decisions.  Thanks to a generous donor all donations today will be doubled up to a total of $2,000 - so you have a chance to have your donation go twice as far. 

How to Make a Tax-Deductible Donate:

• Online, using our secure server.
   
• If you should experience difficulty in donating online, or would like to donate over the phone, please call Network For Good at 1-888-284-7978 and press option 3 to make your donation.
   
• Or by Check, payable to the Fluoride Action Network. Mail your check to:

Fluoride Action Network
c/o Connett
104 Walnut Street
Binghamton NY 13905