FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK:FAN objects to mischaracterization of fluoridation opponents

FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK   
http://fluoridealert.org/

June 25, 2010

Political Mischaracterization of Fluoridation Opposition Dismays Scientists

CANTON, N.Y., June 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Scientists representing the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) strongly object to recent mischaracterizations of fluoridation opponents by political pundits Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann and others in conjunction with Senator Harry Reid’s Nevada re-election campaign.

“Fluoridation opposition is science-based and growing,” says Paul Connett, PhD, FAN Executive Director, who has co-authored the upcoming book, “The Case Against Fluoride: How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics that Keep it There.” Co-authors are James Beck, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of medical physics at the University of Alberta in Calgary; and Spedding Micklem, DPhil, professor emeritus at Edinburgh University.

“We have spent many years investigating water fluoridation and the toxicity of fluoride and we are dismayed that commentators are willing to repeat, without verification, pro-fluoridation statements that disparage scientists and citizens who oppose the practice,” says Connett.  

“FAN’s website http://www.FluorideAlert.org  has a wealth of scientific information indicating that water fluoridation is neither safe nor effective,” says Connett.  “In fact, mounting evidence shows that it is harmful to large segments of the population and has helped to create an epidemic of dental fluorosis in children.”  On April 12, 2010, Time magazine listed fluoride as one of the “Top Ten Common Household Toxins” and described fluoride as both “neurotoxic and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed.”

What You Never Expected to Hear About Water Fluoridation

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/09/10/water-fluoridation-part-three.aspx

By Dr. Joseph Mercola,  with Rachael Droege

Imagine a drug being prescribed to the entire U.S. population with no consent and no way to track dosage or individual reactions, and without concern for some people’s increased vulnerability to the drug. It sounds crazy, but that is exactly what is happening in the United States with water fluoridation.

Fluoride has been added to the U.S. water supply for over 50 years in order to prevent dental decay. Not only is the practice unsafe, which I will address later, it is also ineffective. Data compiled by the World Health Organization shows no difference in tooth decay in countries that use fluoridated water compared with countries that don’t use fluoridated water.

Further, several additional studies have found that tooth decay rates do not increase when water fluoridation is stopped, and in some cases the rates even go down. The largest U.S. survey, conducted from 1986 to 1987, found that fluoridated water made no difference in tooth decay when measured in terms of DMFT (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth), and made a statistically insignificant difference (on about 0.5 percent of 128 tooth surfaces) when measured as DMFS (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth Surfaces).

When water fluoridation first began it was believed that fluoride had to be ingested for it to be effective. However, this has since changed and the dental community now almost unanimously believes that fluoride’s benefits result from topical application, not when it is swallowed.

Despite fluorides apparent ineffectiveness, it is still used in the United States, but not without consequence. The fluoride that we ingest from the water supply and from a number of other sources such as toothpaste, mouthwashes, processed food, some vitamin tablets, and beverages like fruit juice, soda and tea is associated with a number of negative health effects. Consider that:

• Fluoride accumulates in the bones, making them brittle and more easily fractured, and in the pineal gland, which may inhibit the production of the hormone melatonin, which helps regulate the onset of puberty
• Fluoride damages tooth enamel (known as dental fluorosis) and may lower fertility rates
• Fluoride has been found to increase the uptake of aluminum into the brain and lead into blood
• Fluoride inhibits antibodies from forming in the blood
• Fluoride confuses the immune system, causing it to attack the body’s tissues. This can increase the growth rate of tumors in people prone to cancer