Top Ten Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation
1. All citizens should have a choice about whether or not to use fluoride.
It should not be up to the Spokane City Council to make that decision for us. No one should be forced to ingest a drug that they don’t want to ingest through drinking fluoridated water. Forcing people to drink water that has been treated with fluoride is completely unethical, as it takes away our right of informed consent. Those individuals who would like to use fluoride can do so quite easily just by brushing their teeth with toothpaste that has fluoride in it.
2. The chemical that is typically used to fluoridate water is fluorosilicic acid (FSA).
This chemical is a highly corrosive industrial by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry which is oftentimes imported from China. Unbelievably, FSA must be disposed of as a hazardous waste if it is not sold for use in fluoridation. Moreover, the FSA can be tainted with lead and arsenic, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that there are NO safe levels of lead or arsenic.
3. Fluoride has proven health risks.
The National Academy of Science’s authoritative report, Fluoride in Drinking Water, made the conclusion that fluoride interfered with brain function, was an endocrine disruptor, caused fluorosis in teeth, and was responsible for decreasing thyroid function. Furthermore, fluoride has been linked to causing an increase in bone fractures, kidney disease and diabetes.
4. The science on brain damage from fluoride in children is especially strong.
Over 90 studies, several funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that higher fluoride levels in drinking water, or water mixed with infant formula, can lower the IQs in children or cause an increase in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Being aware of the harmful effects of fluoride, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, who is a physician, made the following statement: “I would not want my wife to drink fluoridated water” if she were pregnant.
5. Fluoridation HARMS, not helps, low-income families.
Low-income families cannot afford to purchase bottled water, or expensive water filtering systems in order to avoid the health risks posed by fluoridated water. In many studies, it has shown that lower income families also use more infant formula, thereby leading to the ingestion of more fluoride. THE GREATEST SOCIAL INJUSTICE IS A PUBLIC POLICY THAT LOWERS THE INTELLIGENCE OF THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY AT A DISADVANTAGE.
6. Fluoridation is a huge waste of taxpayer money.
Preliminary estimates have found that it would cost 4-6 million dollars to install a fluoridation system in Spokane, and that figure doesn’t include the cost of the chemicals and the management of the system.
7. Fluoridation has little, if any, effectiveness in the prevention of cavities.
Even the questionable Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate of a 25% reduction in cavities by the use of fluoride, actually only equates to less than one cavity per child. The Cochrane Collaboration, the gold standard of evaluating effectiveness, otherwise, couldn’t identify any significant evidence of the prevention of cavities in adults or low-income families by ingesting fluoride. Additionally, the World Health Organization data shows that un-fluoridated nations have essentially the same cavity rates as nations with fluoride.
8. Fluoridation can harm the environment.
Several studies have found that fluoride levels, even at amounts that are lower than fluoridated water at 0.7 parts per million, has the potential to harm salmon and invertebrates. NO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT has ever been conducted and several environmental organizations have gone on record to state that they oppose fluoridation. Groups which oppose fluoridation include Food and Water Watch, Environmental Working Group, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, and Columbia Riverkeeper. NOT ONE ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION HAS ENDORSED FLUORIDATION.
9. Water fluoridation is one of the most widely rejected health interventions in the world due to ethical, medical, cost and/or ineffectiveness concerns.
Out of 196 nations, only 24 have any fluoridation. Please take note that over 95% of the world is fluoridation-free and that 7 countries have deemed it illegal.
10. There are better and safer alternatives to preventing cavities.
Good nutrition as well as brushing and flossing and regular dental care is at the top of the list. At this current point in time, every low-income child in Spokane is eligible for free professional dental care.