Fluoride and Old Lace
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The UK government is pushing to lace drinking water with fluorideThe way is being prepared by a law which will exempt water companies from legal responsibility for adding an industrial poison to communal water supplies. The International Fluoride Information Network, in its latest bulletin, says that "unfortunately, it is too late to influence the House of Lords who incredibly voted to modify the water bill to allow water companies (which fluoridate) to be exempt from litigation."
But there is also some good news. "... the latest issue of The Ecologist has printed two hard hitting articles on the dangers of fluoridation, so at least some people will be warned."
I find it incredible that at a time where most countries have abandoned fluoridation of drinking water with the industrial toxic-waste form of fluoride (silicofluorides), the UK is pushing to re-introduce a "public health" measure that is extremely controversial and that was first used in Nazi Germany to "soften the brain" - make people more malleable.
One would think we could learn from history - if not from science.
INTERNATIONAL FLUORIDE INFORMATION NETWORK
IFIN BULLETIN: IFIN # 815: News from the UK.
July 30, 2003
Dear All,
The news from the UK keeps flooding in as the Blair government attempts to foist fluoridation on an unsuspecting British public. The two local news reports printed below fall into a familar propaganda pattern (and the Blair government is good at propaganda). Local dentists or dental groups use largely unpublished small studies of dental decay (with little or no control for economic level which is a more critical predicter of tooth decay than lack of fluoride) to hype the magic bullet of water fluoridation. They nearly always work in percentages which completely obscures the minimal (if any) saving in tooth surfaces involved, even if such savings were actually statistically significant, which they often are not. For example the famous Brunelle and Carlos study from 1990 (the largest ever carried out in the US looking at 39,000 children in 84 communities) found a saving of 18% of the tooth surfaces (average for 5-17 year olds) living all their lives in fluoridated as opposed to non-fluoridated communities. This was championed by the authors as demonstrating the benefits of fluoridation. However, hold the applause, not only did they not report a statistical significance (if any) of these results but the 18% saving amounted to only 0.6 of one tooth surface out of 128 tooth surfaces in a child's mouth - in other words an absolute saving of less than 0.5% of their tooth surfaces!
And what are the risks? None according to the expert quoted in one of these articles, "Dr Garnett said she had no evidence to suggest fluoride had any adverse health effects." Which is another way of saying that she hasn't read the literature.
Fortunately, the latest issue of The Ecologist has printed two hard hitting articles on the dangers of fluoridation, so at least some people will be warned. Unfortunately, it is too late to influence the House of Lords who incredibly voted to modify the water bill to allow water companies (which fluoridate) to be exempt from litigation. Peer pressure?
This issue of The Ecologist also contains an excellent article by Sally Fallon on the important work of Dr. Weston Price who showed among things that so called "primitive peoples" had excellent teeth and health prior to the imposition of Western sugary diets.
There is also a short book review (printed below) of what looks like a very interesting book containing a chapter on fluoridation. The book is called," Abuse your illusions: The Disinformation guide to media mirages and establishment lies."
Paul Connett.
1) Leyland Today, July 30, 2003
Health chiefs call for fluoride boostHEALTH bosses are calling for fluoride in water supplies across Chorley and South Ribble to be boosted to stop childrens' teeth rotting.
Dental experts say the area has only seen a three per cent improvement in the number of missing, decayed and filled teeth, compared to a national improvement of 11 per cent.
And they are worried the districts won't be able to meet the 2003 national target of an average of no more than one decayed, missing or filled tooth per 12 year old.
Now they want to increase the levels of fluoride in water supplies.
In a report to the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust, public health director Shelagh Garnett and consultant in dental public health Gary Whittle, recommended the board support fluoridation.
They say in seven wards in Chorley and six in South Ribble, each child would have an average of at least one and a half fewer teeth affected by decay if the water was fluoridated.
Fluoride is partially absorbed into the enamel of the teeth, helping it resist acid from sugary food.
The experts say this would reduce the number of children suffering from pain and swelling and cut down on the 400 general anaesthetics administered yearly for tooth extractions.
Prompt
The trust board will now work with local authority officials to gauge public opinion on the matter.
But a move to fluoridate the water would prompt a protest from the National Pure Water Association and the North West Council Against Fluoridation. They claim fluoride is the toxic waste of the phosphate industry and a part two poison.
But Dr Garnett said she had no evidence to suggest fluoride had any adverse health effects.
She said: "Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral. We are not suggesting putting something in that isn't there. We are suggesting raising the level of a natural substance.
"Fluoride alone won't have any effect - it must go hand in hand with a better diet and better oral hygiene."
__________________________________________________2) The Sentinel, July 29 2003.
ROTTEN DENTAL RECORD OF OUR INFANTS' TEETH
12:00 - 29 July 2003
Five year-olds in North Staffordshire are plagued by nearly three times higher levels of tooth decay than their peers in other parts of the region.
The findings come from a damning survey carried out by the Dental Health Promotion Group exploring youngsters' dental health problems.
They show North Staffordshire is among the bottom three districts in the West Midlands for poor teeth among five-year-olds.
But the figures are even more worrying for children living in the north of Stoke-on-Trent - the area covered by North Stoke Primary Care Trust - where 54 per cent have tooth decay.
In Newcastle and South Stoke the statistics look a little better, with 57 per cent and 60 per cent of children respectively being free from tooth decay.
The Staffordshire Moorlands has the best record for the north of the county with only 32 per cent of five-year-olds having decayed teeth.
But compared to other parts of the region - particularly Cannock Chase and East Staffordshire where just 21 per cent of children have tooth decay - the numbers are still a concern.
Burslem South councillor Terry Crowe said: "This report is very concerning and I think more needs to be done to educate parents about how they can help their children look after their teeth.
"There just doesn't seem to be enough leaflets and information available. The majority of parents probably do all they can and may not realise that they could be doing more. I believe education is the key to improving these figures in the future."
Now the study has prompted renewed calls for fluoridation of the area' s water supplies.
On average, a group of 100 five-year-olds in North Staffordshire will have 152 teeth which are decayed, extracted as a result of decay or filled compared to just 61 teeth in a similar group in the south of the county.
Around two-thirds of people living in South Staffordshire have either wholly or partly fluoridated water, but there is no fluoridation scheme operating in the north.
Kate Taylor, North Staffordshire consultant in dental public health, said: "This latest study confirms yet again the benefits to dental health which come from fluoridated water.
"Staffordshire is a perfect example of the difference in levels of tooth decay between a fluoridated and non-fluoridated area."
Children in North Stoke again have the worst record for the number of decayed teeth, with a group of 100 children having 213 teeth decayed, missing or filled.
Figures for Newcastle and South Stoke are not much better with a similar group of five-year-olds having 147 decayed teeth in both areas. This compares dramatically to just 52 teeth per 100 children in Cannock Chase.
Burslem North councillor John Lamingman said he was surprised by the poor figures for North Stoke.
He said: "It is worrying, but I put it down to three factors, a lack of fluoride in the water, a lack of education for parents and poverty."
______________________________________________3) THE ECOLOGIST, July, 2003.
Two weeks ago it emerged that Mr Blair is backing secret moves to force water companies to fluoridate drinking water, whether the industry likes it or not. In other words, he is proposing to mass medicate the people of this country. This is not - as you might imagine - to prevent some terrible, crushing health risk like smallpox, but to improve the quality of our teeth.
Tooth decay is a nuisance, but it's hardly the stuff of nightmares. Fluoride, on the other hand, may well be; and, according to countless studies around the world, it doesn't even work. In the US, where 65 per cent of the population are routinely subjected to the chemical, the worst tooth decay occurs in poor neighbourhoods of the largest cities - the vast majority of which have been fluoridated for decades. And when fluoridation was stopped in parts of Finland, East Germany, Cuba and Canada tooth decay actually decreased.
But even if it did work, drinki
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