Friday, February 6, 2009

Today I submitted a request to our Water Department here in Metro Nashville, Davidson County asking for statistics on how much their fluoridation program costs. This is in preparation for submitting an actual budget proposal to the Mayor's Office to ask for termination of our water fluoridation program. It seems absolutely insane to pay the fertilizer industry a hefty fee to help them dispose of a pollution by product that would otherwise be very expensive to dispose of. I'm curious how long our water department will drag their feet on this one.

It's going to be a long uphill battle on this issue. Our Health Department's Oral Health Division supports fluoridation with no hesitation or research to back them up. Instead, they simply quote the Centers for Disease Control, who actually do no research of their own.

The shear amount of information available from both sides of the issue is staggering. Yet, knowing what I now know about the practice after a year and four months of research makes me generally appalled at the continuance of our health department's promotion despite all the evidence of fluoride's adverse health effects. And, I very much disagree with the collection of court cases that have determined that fluoridation is a proper exercise of state police powers for the good of a larger population. How do you legally justify placing a pollution by product into a resource that is so basic to human life with the expectation that it will affect everyone in the same manner? That's quite ludicrous.

We are in the unique position of helping to stop a practice that has very clear adverse health effects, especially in children and at risk groups such as kidney and cancer patients.
I recommend that you look carefully at the scientific data and legal arguments at www.FluorideAlert.org then read the well researched work by Christopher Bryson, "The Fluoride Deception."
I personally have not found any of the arguments based upon scientific information or legality to be either confusing nor problematic. Everything points clearly toward the fact that fluoridation in the world MUST be stopped to protect the health of our citizens. Every day you will see more and more health professionals at the Fluoride Action Network signing on to a petition to end this outdated and risky practice. These are not simply activists, but doctors, nurses, and other degreed professionals who all understand the issue very clearly. One of our supporters, Dr. Arvid Carlson, is a scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for 2000. So, we aren't just a group of crazies shouting in the wilderness.
Most of Europe does not fluoridate, and you will find that statistics show their dental health to be comparable, if not better, to that of America. In fact, European governments use the simple argument that fluoridation is mass medication using a non-approved drug without measured dose or prescription and without monitoring by a licensed health professional. This one argument makes the practice illegal in every state in our Union.
In fact, the reasons for not using fluoride are so numerous, they can get a bit overwhelming at times.
My family and I ceased using fluoridated water and switched to distilled water over a year ago. Prior to that we had experienced about 25 years of "mysterious" medical symptoms for which my doctors could find no cause. Within one week of getting off our fluoridated city tap water, all of those symptoms faded. We've been free of any kind of problems, including the usual flu virus periods ever since. So, my experience is not only from study, but also from experience. It is estimated that approximately five percent of the population is particularly sensitive to very low doses of fluoride. It turns out that I am one of them. I would prefer to stay healthy, but there is so much fluoride in our foods and environment that I find it difficult to avoid it entirely.
You should also note that the EPA Headquarters Union representing more than 1500 scientists, lawyers, engineers and other professionals in Washington, D.C. continue to work against fluoridation. Their statement can be found at:

http://www.nteu280.org/Issues/Fluoride/NTEU280-Fluoride.htm

Upon reading that statement, I think you will discover that not everyone working in health related government agencies are pushing fluoride so strongly.