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Open Letter to Honorable Yael German, Minister
of Health, Israel
June 25, 2014
· A A A
Dear Honorable Minister German,
We applaud your decision to end mandatory
fluoridation in Israel and we look forward to the time that there is an
outright ban on this reckless practice.
Your position is a model for the public
health community both in Israel and in our respective communities. It is sound,
based on the current literature and the need to protect the health of citizens
from unnecessary ingestion of fluoride.
It is unfortunate that in making the
best decision for the health and welfare of your citizens that you have been
subjected to criticism and bullying as noted in the June 22rd
article, Backlash against Health Minister
Yael German for her decision to stop fluoridation, published in The
Jerusalem Post (Siegel-Itzkovich).
Professor Paul Connett, co-author of The Case Against Fluoride (Chelsea
Green, 2010), is willing to travel to Israel and publicly debate any of those
who are organizing against you. However, in our experience the pro-fluoridation
advocates are unable to defend their position in open public debate. This is
not through a lack of debating skills on their part but rather the fact that
science simply does not support their claims that swallowing fluoride is safe
or that it dramatically reduces tooth decay.
The following facts and arguments
underline the inappropriateness of this outdated practice:
Delivering
any medicine via the water supply is reckless
Fluoridation violates all principles of
modern pharmacology. Once added to water there is no way of controlling the
dose or the people who get the medicine – it goes to everyone regardless of
age, weight, health, need or nutritional status. Moreover, it violates the
individual’s right to informed consent to medical treatment. (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000445.htm).
Swallowing
fluoride is particularly inappropriate
Fluoride is not a nutrient. Not one
biochemical process in the body needs
fluoride. Underlining this fact is the exceedingly low level of fluoride in
mother’s milk (0.004 ppm, NRC, 2006, p.40). Formula-fed infants in fluoridated
communities (at 0.7 to 1.2 ppm) receive 175 to 300 times more fluoride than a
breast-fed infant.
Making matters worse is the fact that
fluoride is known to have toxic properties at low doses (NRC 2006, Barbier et
al., 2010; Varner et al., 1998). It also accumulates in the bone and builds up
there over a lifetime. Early signs of fluoride poisoning of the bone (skeletal
fluorosis) are identical to arthritis and lifelong accumulation can make bones
brittle and more prone to fracture.
Dental
fluorosis
While we do not see the crippling
effects of skeletal fluorosis
observed in countries like India and China, which have areas of high natural
levels of fluoride, children in fluoridated countries are experiencing a very
high prevalence of dental fluorosis.
According to the CDC (2010) 41% of American children aged 12-15 have dental
fluorosis. Black and Mexican American children have significantly higher rates
of the more severe forms of dental fluorosis (CDC, 2005, Table 23).
Fluoridation promoters acknowledge that
dental fluorosis indicates over-exposure to fluoride but refuse to admit other
harm. A review of the toxicology of fluoride by the U.S. National Research
Council of the National Academies in 2006 revealed that fluoride is an
endocrine disruptor and causes many health problems at levels close to the
exposure levels in fluoridated communities. This panel also reported that
bottle-fed babies are exceeding the EPA’s safe reference dose when drinking
fluoridated water (NRC, 2006, p85).
Fluoride
impacts the brain
Many animal and human studies indicate
that fluoride is a neurotoxin (www.FluorideAlert.org/issues/health/brain).
In 2012, a team that included Harvard University researchers reviewed 27
studies that showed an association between fairly modest exposure to fluoride
and lowered IQ in children (Choi et al., 2012). In nine of these studies the
so-called “high fluoride” village had fluoride levels less than 3 ppm. Such
levels provide no adequate margin of safety to protect all children –especially
the most vulnerable- from lowered IQ when drinking fluoridated water.
An
incredible lack of oversight
Fluoridation is designed to treat a
disease but has never been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA);
it classifies fluoride as an “unapproved drug.”
How
strong is the evidence that swallowing fluoride reduces tooth decay?
Fluoridation advocates claim that it is
very strong. However, if you look at the actual science it is a different
story. The effectiveness of swallowing fluoride to reduce tooth decay has never
been demonstrated via a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the gold standard of
epidemiology (McDonagh et al., 2000). Two key U.S. studies – both government
funded and by pro-fluoridation researchers – have failed to produce convincing
evidence of benefit.
A very large study, administered by the
U.S. National Institute for Dental Research, examined the permanent teeth of
39,000 children (aged 5-17) from 84 communities. The average saving in Decayed
Missing and Filled Surfaces (DMFS) when comparing children in fluoridated and
non-fluoridated communities was 0.6 of a tooth surface out of 128 tooth
surfaces, and this was not shown to
be statistically significant (Brunelle and Carlos, 1990). Even if it were,
the average saving is remarkably small considering what risks are being taken
to achieve this result.
As part of the “Iowa Fluoride Study,” where
children’s tooth decay and fluoride intake has been tracked from birth,
researchers examined the relationship between tooth decay and individual exposure to fluoride from all
sources, including water, food and dental products. They were attempting to find
the so-called “optimal dose” needed to reduce tooth decay, however they
concluded that, “achieving a caries-free
status may have relatively little to do with fluoride intake…” (Warren et
al., 2009).
The
most likely explanation for the weak evidence of benefit
Even fluoridation advocates have
acknowledged that the predominant
benefit of fluoride is topical, not systemic (CDC, 1999). In other
words, fluoride works on the outside of the tooth not from inside the body.
This acknowledgement removes the whole
rationale for fluoridating water and forcing people who don’t want it to ingest
it.
Most
countries don’t fluoridate their water
The vast majority of countries
(including 97% of Europe) neither fluoridate their water nor their
salt. However, WHO figures indicate that tooth decay in 12-year-olds is
coming down as fast in non-fluoridated countries as fluoridated ones (http://fluoridealert.org/issues/caries/who-data/
).
Tooth
decay in low-income families can be reduced by safer means
Many countries have been able to reduce
tooth decay in low-income families using cost-effective programs without water
fluoridation. The Scottish Childsmile program involves a) teaching tooth-brushing
in nursery schools; b) advising parents on better diets; c) annual check-ups
and d) fluoride varnishes where necessary. The number of 12-year-olds without
caries has increased to over 70% using these methods and in the process costs
have been cut by half (BBC Scotland, 2013).
Added
benefit of emphasizing education
Making education, not fluoridation, the
center of the fight against tooth decay has the added advantage of attacking
the cause of obesity, an issue which threatens to cost health services billions
of dollars over coming decades.
References after signatures
Sincerely,
Paul Connett, PhD, Director, Fluoride
Action Network, USA
Mary Lou Andersen, MS, Bellingham,
Washington
Eve-Marie Arcand, DMD, Sherbrooke,
Québec, Canada
Douglas Amell, ND, Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan, Canada
Alexander J. Audette, R.Ac., TCMP,
B.Eng.(Chem), Guelph, Ontario, Canada
David M. Augenstein, MSc, PEng,
Akron/Canton, Ohio
John Bain, DDS, Farmington, Arkansas
Kellie Barnes, MOMT, MPT, Portland,
Oregon
Jane Beck, BSc, MBBS, Thames, New
Zealand
James S. Beck, MD, PhD, Professor
Emeritus of Medical Biophysics, University of Calgary, Canada; Co-author, Case Against Fluoride (Chelsea Green,
2010)
Bobbie Beckman, DDS, Bassano del
Grappa, Italy
Kathleen Bernardi, RDH, King City,
Ontario, Canada
Rosemary R.
Bishop, MS (Health Ed), Pensacola, Florida
Jo Thomas Blaine, L.Ac, San Diego,
California
Zuzka Borovjakova, CNP (Certified
Nutritional Practitioner), Toronto, Ontario
Barry Breger, MD, Montreal, Québec,
Canada
Gene Burke, BA, Woodland Hills,
California
Robert Button BScPharm, RPh, CDE, CRE,
Dryden, Ontario, Canada
David Buttorff, Louisville, Kentucky
Elizabeth Caliva, PE, MS, Encinitas,
California
Neil J. Carman, PhD, Austin, Texas
Leo Cashman, MA, Executive Director of
DAMS Inc. (Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions), USA
Anthony Cipolla, DDS, Williamsport,
Pennsylvania
Griffin Cole, DDS, President,
International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology, Austin, Texas
John J. Collins, DC, Newberg, Oregon
Michael Connett, JD, Los Angeles,
California
Gerald W Cooper, PENG, B Eng, MBA,
Toronto, Canada
Karl Cox, PhD, Brighton, Sussex, UK
Michael Czajka, PhD candidate
(Chemistry), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Lady Carla Davis, MPH, Queensland,
Australia
Catherine L. Deptula, DVM, BS, Brandon,
Florida
Robert C Dickson, MD, CCFP, FCFP,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Michael F. Dolan, PhD, Amherst,
Massachusetts
Aviva (Zack) Dycian, DMD, Ramat
HaSharon, Israel
Irucka Embry, M.Eng., BS, Nashville,
Tennessee
Hart Nadav Feuer, PhD, Agricultural
Sciences, University of Bonn, Germany
Gerald A Fillmore, DDS,
MS, Orthodontist (retired), Gridley, California
Laurence Fisher, BDS, Wellington, New
Zealand
Naomi H. Flack, BS, EdM, Palm Beach
Gardens, Florida
Gary Fortinsky, DDS, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
Matt Freedman, Chiropractic Physician,
Eugene, Oregon
Brenda L. Gallie, Professor, University
of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Elsa Noeline Gannaway, MA. Dip Ed., Wellington, New Zealand
Michael Godfrey, MBBS, Tauranga, New Zealand
Sara Gold, DAMS International (Dental
Amalgam Mercury Solutions) – Israel Activist, Certified Energy Health
Practitioner, Betar Illit, Israel
Dorothy Goldin Rosenberg, MES, PhD,
Toronto, Canada
Yarden Goldstein, DDS, Tel Aviv, Israel
Anna Goodwin, MD (Medical Oncologist),
Hamilton, New Zealand
Michael Gossweiler, DDS Indianapolis,
Indiana
Stephanie Grootendorst, DC, DACNB,
Chiropractic Physician, Diplomate Chiropractic Neurology, Portland, Oregon
Ian Gregson, Wellington Chapter, Weston
A Price Foundation, New Zealand
Ronald A. Greinke, PhD, Medina, Ohio
Sophie Guellati-Salcedo, PhD, Miami,
Florida
Chris Gupta, P.Eng., London, Ontario,
Canada
MC Hagerty, RN, BSN, MA, Carlsbad,
California
Merilyn Haines, B App Sc Med Lab Tech, Brisbane,
Queensland, Australia
Kathryn Hall, RN, Berkeley, California
Gerald F Harris BSc, BEd,
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
William Harris, MD, Honolulu, Hawaii
Leslie C. Hatcher RN, BSN, Southlake,
Texas
Simeon Hein, PhD, Institute for
Resonance, Boulder, Colorado
James M. Heltzel, DMD, Las Vegas,
Nevada
Nancy R. Heltzel, RDH, KOHP, Las Vegas,
Nevada
David R. Hill, PEng, CEng, FBCS,
Professor Emeritus, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
J. William Hirzy, PhD, Washington, DC
Vic Hummert, Author, Lafayette,
Louisiana
David W Horwood, MAgSc, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Professor C. Vyvyan Howard, MD, PhD,
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland; Past President, International Society
of Doctors for the Environment
Cheryl Hughes, RN, Cove, Texas
Ann Huntsman, RN, MS, Cupertino, California
April Hurley, MD, Santa Rosa,
California
Lisa Intemann, PhD, BA, BAppSc,
DipSocSc, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia
Bo H Jonsson, MD, PhD, Department of
clinical neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Susan Kanen, BS (Whistleblower to lead
in drinking water Washington DC), Anchorage, Alaska
Barry S. Kendler, PhD, FACN, CNS,
Professor of Nutrition, University of Bridgeport, Connecticut
David Kennedy, DDS, Past President,
International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, San Diego, California
George Knorr, Professor of Physics
Emeritus, University of Iowa, Iowa
Robert Kopitzke, PhD (Statistics), Fort
Collins, Colorado
Deborah Landowne, CCH, RSHom(NA)
Classical Homeopathy, San Rafael, California
Neima Langner, MD, FRCP(C) Community
Medicine and Public Health, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Isabella Leviyev, Physician Assistant,
Queens, New York
Louisa Liberman, PhD, Hillsborough,
North Carolina
Mel Litman, MD and Maya Litman,
BA, B.Ed, Metar, Israel
Dennis Lobstein, MTCM, PhD, Los Angeles,
California
Theresa Lynch, Ed. D., Charlottesville,
Virginia
Douglas J. Mackenzie, MD, Santa
Barbara, California
Peter Mackinlay, Dip Arch, A G Inst
Tech, B Arch, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Joy Margulies, RN, BS (community
health), Arverne, New York
Elizabeth McDonagh BSc(Hons), Cert.
Ed., Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK
Lisa McLaurin, RN, CCRN, Castaic,
California
James D. McNabb, MD, CNS, Austin, Texas
Philip Michael, MB, BCh, DCH, DRCOG,
MICGP, Hon Sec IDEA, Bandon, Co Cork, Ireland
Spedding Micklem, D.Phil (Oxon),
Edinburgh, Scotland; Co-author, Case
Against Fluoride (Chelsea Green, 2010)
Howard W. Mielke, PhD (Environmental
Pharmacology), New Orleans, Louisiana
Deborah E. Moore, PhD, Executive
Director, Second Look, Worcester, Massachusetts
Tatyana Moore, CPA, Syracuse, New York
John J Mulrooney DC, Portland, Oregon
Janet Nagel, Ed.D (Public health
educator, ret.), Greensboro, North Carolina
Ted Ninnes, MA, MSc, PhD, Kawhia, New
Zealand
Bill Osmunson DDS, MPH, Portland,
Oregon
Eugene L. Packer, DC, N.Easton,
Massachusetts
Ian E Packington MA (Oxon) Cert Tox (Barts), York, UK
Dr Geoff Pain, Monbulk, Victoria,
Australia
Gilles Parent, ND, Co-author, Fluoridation: Autopsy of a Scientific Error,
2010. Québec, Canada
Professor Stephen Peckham, BSc, MA(Econ),
University of Kent; Director, Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury,
UK
Doug Piltingsrud, PhD (Inorganic
chemistry), Eyota,
Minnesota
Michael Pinkerton, Doctor of
Chiropractic, Petaluma, California
Christian Pires, Systems Engineer,
Portalegre, Portugal
Betsy Ramsay, Journalist, Teacher,
Author, Jerusalem, Israel
Hagen Rampes, BSc MBChB FRCPsych, London, UK
Elizabeth W. Reed, PhD, Oak Ridge,
Tennessee
James W. Reeves, PhD, Lafayette,
Louisiana
David W Regiani, DDS, MIAOMT, Founding
member, Past president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and
Toxicology, Ortonville, Michigan
Curtis Rexroth MA, DC, CCN, Moline,
Illinois
Robert H Riffenburgh, PhD, MS, PStat,
FASA, FRSS, San Diego, California; Author, Statistics
in Medicine, 3rd Edition (Elsevier, 2012).
Cynthia L. Rochen, BSN, BSAg, Silver
Spring, Maryland
Terry Rose, BSc., BDS, Otago New
Zealand
Michael Ross, LHP, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
Teresa Rouse, BSN, RN, CRRN, Green
City, Missouri
Jean Ryan, BSc, Nutrition and
Dietetics, RN, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
John A. Ryan, MBBS, MSc,
Nutrition, FRACGP, DCH, FAMAC (Acupuncture), FACNEM, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia
Holly Satvika, RN, FNP-BC, Asheville,
North Carolina
Andrew W. Saul, PhD, Editor,
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Rochester, New York
Michael B Schachter, MD, Certified
Nutrition Specialist (CNS), Suffern, New York
Judy Schriebman, Certified Classical
Homeopath, RSHom(NA), San Rafael, California
Karilee Shames PhD, RN, Sebastopol,
California
Richard Shames, MD, Sebastopol,
California
Nestor B Shapka, DDS, Bonnyville,
Alberta, Canada
Ruth W. Shearer, PhD (toxicologist,
retired), Lacey, Washington
Davorin K. Skender, BSE, Bloomington,
Indiana
Rick Smith, Network Manager (CAAS),
Providence, Rhode Island
Kristine L. Soly, MD, FACC, Holistic
Cardiologist, Crossville, Tennessee
Joerg Spitz, MD, PhD, Schlangenbad,
Germany
Carol Vander Stoep, RDH, BSDH, OMT,
Austin, Texas
Kathleen Thiessen, PhD, Senior
Scientist, Oak Ridge Center for Risk Analysis, Tennessee
Sheldon Thomas, Director ‘Clear Water
Legacy’, Retired Manager of Water Distribution, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
William Thornton, ND, DC, Santa Monica,
California
Eric Turk, PhD (Neuroscience), North
Hills, California
Shimon Tsuk, M.Sc., Kiryat Ono, Israel
Ruth Tudor, RN, Olympia, Washington
Hilary C. Walton, PhD in Evolutionary
Behavioral Ecology, Cleveland OH
Barbara Warren, RN, MS, Albany, New
York
Joy Warren, BSc. (Hons, Env. Sc.),
Certificate in Health and Nutrition, West Midlands, UK
Declan Waugh, Environmental Scientist,
Cork, Ireland
Charles Weber, MS (soil science), Hendersonville, North Carolina
John J. West, CET, LAFT, Wallingford, Vermont
Donna Westfall, Former Councilmember,
Crescent City, California
Raymond R. White, PhD (Biology), San
Francisco, California
Shirley Williams, RN, Bellingham,
Washington
Mae W. Woo, DDS, Billings, Montana
Loty Zilberman, Chemical Engineer, MSc,
Ghivataiim, Israel
References:
Barbier O, Arreola-Mendoza L, Del Razo
LM. 2010. Molecular
mechanisms of fluoride toxicity. Chemico-Biological Interactions,
188(2):319-33.
BBC News Scotland. 2013. Nursery toothbrushing saves
£6m in dental costs. November 9.
Brunelle JA, Carlos JP. 1990. Recent trends in dental
caries in U.S. children and the effect of water fluoridation. Journal of
Dental Research, 69(Special edition):723-727. Excerpts at http://fluoridealert.org/studies/nidr-dmfs/
CDC 1999 (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention). Achievements in
public health, 1900- 1999: Fluoridation of drinking water to prevent dental
caries. Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Review (MMWR) 48(41): 933-940.
October 22.
CDC 2005 (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention). Surveillance
for dental caries, dental sealants, tooth retention, edentulism, and enamel
fluorosis–United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2002. MMWR Surveillance
Summaries, 54(3):1-43.
CDC 2010 (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention). Beltrán-Aguilar, Barker L, Dye BA. 2010. Prevalence and Severity
of Dental Fluorosis in the United States, 1999-2004. NCHS Data Brief Number
53. November.
Choi AL, Sun G, Zhang Y, Grandjean P.
2012. Developmental fluoride
neurotoxicity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Health
Perspectives, 120(10):1362–1368.
Connett P, Beck J and Micklem S. 2010. The
Case Against Fluoride. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green
Publishing.
McDonagh MS, Whiting PF, Wilson PM, et
al. 2000. Systematic
Review of Water Fluoridation. British Medical Journal, 321(7265):855–59.
Note: The full report that this paper summarizes is commonly known as the York
Review and is available at http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/fluorid.htm
NRC 2006 (National Research Council of
the National Academies). Fluoride in Drinking
Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards. Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press.
Siegel-Itzkovich J 2014. Backlash
against Health Minister Yael German for her decision to stop fluoridation.
The Jerusalem Post. June 22.
Varner JA, Jensen KF, Horvath W,
Isaacson RL. 1998. Chronic
administration of aluminum-fluoride or sodium-fluoride to rats in drinking
water: alterations in neuronal and cerebrovascular integrity. Brain
Research, Feb 16;784(1-2):284-98.
Warren JJ, Levy SM, Broffitt B, et al.
2009. Considerations on
optimal fluoride intake using dental fluorosis and dental caries outcomes – a
longitudinal study. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 69(2):111-5.
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quick facts
- More people drink fluoridated water in the United States than the rest of the world combined.
- Wine and grape juice made in the U.S. have high levels of fluoride pesticide.
- In Europe, fluoride was once prescribed as a drug to reduce thyroid activity.
- Fluoridation disproportionately harms black children.
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