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Would you believe ... - 98% of Europe's drinking water is fluoridation-free - the fluoride added to Irish drinking water is toxic waste from the fertiliser industry - the assertion that fluoride is good for teeth is a myth - in fact countries with the best dental health do not fluoridate drinking water - there is enough fluoride in a tube of toothpaste to kill a small child For the truth about fluoridation read on ........ THE FLUORIDATION OF IRELAND In 1960 the Dáil passed the Health (Fluoridation of Water Supplies) Act, allowing artificial fluoride to be added to Ireland's water supply. In 1963 this decision was challenged in the Supreme Court by Dublin Resident Mrs Gladys Ryan. She argued that water fluoridation was akin to mass medication, which was unconstitutional. She lost her case and to this day water fluoridation has been Government policy. The Government's argument
in the Supreme Court challenge was that water fluoridation would be good
for Irish teeth. But they never considered the wider health effects that
fluoridating water would have [1]. In over
30 years not one Irish study has looked at the effects fluoride has had
on anything other than people's teeth. This is despite the fact that international
research has shown a relationship between fluoridated water and bone cancer,
arthritis, osteoporosis, hip fractures, memory loss, genetic damage, depressed
thyroid function, immune system damage, infant mortality and lowered IQ.
USA Since 1990 over 45 US cities have rejected fluoridation [2]. In 1990 forty US dentists brought a case against the American Dental Association [3] contending that the Association purposefully shielded the public from data that links fluoride to genetic defects, cancer and other heath problems. All US fluoride toothpaste must carry a poisons symbol, with a warning to contact the nearest poisons unit if more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste is swallowed. In 1997 the Union of Government Scientists of the United States Environmental Protection Agency voted unanimously to co-sponsor a Californian initiative to ban fluoridation, stating "Our membersÕ review of the body of evidence over the last 11 years, including animal and human epidemiology studies, indicates a causal [NB CAUSAL] link between fluoride/fluoridation and cancer, genetic damage, neurological impairment and bone pathology" [4]. Canada In April 1999 a leading Canadian fluoride authority, Professor of Dentistry at the University of Toronto and long-standing consultant to the Canadian Dental Association, Dr Hardy Limeback "conceded that fluoride may be destroying our bones, our teeth and our overall health". The Sunday Toronto Star, April 25, 1999. New Zealand In 1980 dentist John Colquhoun, then an ardent supporter of fluoridation, was sent by officials from Wellington, the capital, on a world study tour of fluoridation so that he would be qualified to lead a campaign to extend fluoridation in New Zealand. After completing his tour and considering his research he became an outspoken critic of fluoridation. [5] New Zealand remains only partially fluoridated. India Since 1987 concerted efforts and investments have been made to provide defluoridated water in India. In October 1998, Dr.A.K. Susheela, senior fluoride consultant to the Indian Government, in a presentation to the UK Minister of Health, stated that "it is absurd that fluoridation of water is practised in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and other parts of the world. This practice of adding Fluoride to drinking water under the assumption that it will prevent Dental Caries (Dental Decay) is unscientific, outdated and unethical". [6] Chile In the 1970s Dr Albert Schatz
(co-discoverer of the anti-biotic streptomycin and Nobel Prize Nominee)
reported to the Government in Chile that water fluoridation in Latin America
was linked to higher rates of infant mortality and deaths resulting from
congenital malformation. His findings were enough to persuade the Chilean
Government to abandon fluoridation. [7]
"Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century, if not of all time" [8] Dr Robert Carton, a scientist who spent 20 years working for the US EPA. The only argument made in favour of fluoridation is that it may reduce tooth decay in children's teeth. This was and remains the Irish Government's reason for fluoridating Irish drinking water. But the contention that fluoridation may reduce tooth decay is a MYTH. The arguments against fluoridation are too numerous to list in their entirety in this document. But the following are key: FLUORIDATION & TEETH Not one statistically acceptable trial exists which proves that fluoride benefits teeth. Recent worldwide studies [9], involving 480,000 children, found no significant difference in tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities. In fact one study actually showed that decay was greater in the fluoridated area. In 1986-1987, in the largest
US study [10] into the effects of fluoride,
involving 39,207 children aged 5-17, no statistical difference in decay
of permanent teeth was found between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas.
FLUORIDATION & BONES Crippling skeletal fluorosis may occur in people who have ingested 10-20mg of fluoride per day for 10 to 20 years (equivalent to 2.5 - 5 mg per day for 40-80 years) according to the National Research Council in the USA. [13] In Ireland drinking 4 cups of tea and brushing your teeth twice with fluoride toothpaste may place your daily fluoride intake within these limits. Since 1990 there are numerous large-scale scientific studies reporting an association between fluoridated water and hip fractures, [14] up to 87% increase in elderly people. However no research into the relationship between fluoridation and increased hip fracture rates in Ireland has been carried out in over 30 years of fluoridation, although the Dublin Dental Hospital were co-researchers in a study which linked increased bone fracture risk with age. [14a] A quarter of all hip fracture victims die from them. Fluoridation is also known to increase osteoporosis, [15] a condition which is increasingly prevalent among Irish women in their 30s and 40s, and not just those in their 50s.
In 1992 a study by the New Jersey Department of Health [16] in the USA found a strong link between fluoridation and bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in young males. They reported that osteosarcoma rates were three to seven times higher in fluoridated areas than non-fluoridated areas. This disease is routinely found to be more common in males than in females and it has been reported that at very low levels fluoride can interfere with the male hormone testosterone. [17] FLUORIDATION & THE NERVOUS SYSTEM Studies in China [18] show reduced IQ in children overexposed to fluoride from drinking water. Further effects include memory loss, headache, reduced concentration, depression and confusion. [19] Fluoridation is also implicated in Alzheimers and Dementia. A study has shown that fluoride
combines with aluminium to cross the blood brain barrier, producing similar
effects to those found in the brains of Alzheimers sufferers. [20]
FLUORIDATION & REPRODUCTION Increased fluoride intake has been linked to lowered birth rates and decreased levels of sperm and testosterone in both rats and humans. [21] FLUORIDATION & ALLERGY Reports of allergic responses [22] to fluoridated water include skin irritations, mouth ulcers, headaches and stomach upset. It also causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). [23] One in five Irish adults suffer from IBS according to a survey presented in June 1998, but no research has looked at the links between it and the fact that many Irish people under the age of 35 have been drinking fluoridated water all their lives. Many of these allergic symptoms can be reversed relatively quickly by switching to non-fluoridated water. FLUORIDATION & THE ENVIRONMENT Fluoridation is a sure way
of ensuring that fluoride is spread throughout the environment. [24]
From toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, farm yards and garages, fluoridated
water is flushed away, ultimately going to streams, rivers, lakes and the
sea. Fluoride concentrations of half that of artificially fluoridated water
have been shown to have lethal effects on "endangered" salmon species.
Evidence from the USA has shown that fluoride levels in rivers may be a
factor in dwindling salmon stocks. [25]
There is no research in Ireland investigating the relationship between
over 3 decades of fluoridation and Ireland's dramatically reduced wild
salmon numbers.
Ireland is the only democracy in the world that demands the fluoridation of public drinking water supplies by law. Water fluoridation goes against
the notion of consumer choice.
Fluoridation is untested and
unproven mass medication
Enforced uncontrolled medication
without our informed consent
VOICE is calling
for an immediate repeal
If you want to end fluoridation
please contact the
Telephone the Dept. of Health at 671 4711 and express your concern. For an information video on fluoridation contact VOICE (£5 incl. p+p)
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THE BIG MYTH 
