Bulletin #713

December 4, 2003

Dear All,

Before we get to the Wal-Mart campaign update, I have printed below two excellent letters to local newspapers which draw attention to the ADA’s ill-advertised recommendation to parents not to use fluoridated tap water to make up baby formula. The first - a short and crisp one - was sent in by Dr. Bruce Spittle to his newspaper in Dunedin, New Zealand. The second - a longer one- was sent in by Susan Micheti to her Mount Horeb, Wisconsin newspaper. Susan neatly incorporates several other news items in her letter. Hopefully, one, or both, of these letters will inspire you to pen your own. Please send us copies of any that are published.

Wal-Mart campaign update

As of 1:30 pm today (EST) the number of Online letters sent to Wal-Mart topped 500.

Please send in your own if you have yet to do so and get as many of your friends, family and colleagues to do likewise. It is simple, quick and important.

Do you have your own email list? If so, please consider forwarding this urgent appeal to your list. This  is a really winnable campaign, but we are going to need to get into the thousands to get Wal-Mart to listen.

Do you have access to contacts operating very large email distributions (e.g. Organic Consumers Association). If so please urge them to ask their members to support this petition.

PETITION ONLINE AT http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/walmart/ (if this is not a live URL on your system please copy and paste it in to your internet server)

Since the last count petitions have been sent in from both Louisiana and Rhode Island, that leaves only 5 states without petitions sent (Alaska, Delaware, Maine, North and South Dakota). Again if you have friends or contacts in one of those states urge them to help us complete the 50.

The State league table: Minnesota still maintains a large lead over nearest rival CA. PA has leapt over both NY and UT to occupy 6th position. Montana has reached double figures and occupies the eleventh spot.

TOP 11 STATES (as of 500 petitions)

MN 74
CA 39
WA 29
FL 26
TX 26
PA 24
NY 23
UT 15
MA 14
WI 12
MT 10

OTHER COUNTRIES

Canada 22
Australia 11
France 9
UK 7

Next update when we reach 1000. Do help us get there as soon as possible.

PETITION ONLINE AT  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/walmart/

Paul Connett
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Letter from Dr. Bruce Spittle, Dunedin, New Zealand

15 November 2006
 
The Editor
ODT
 
Dear Sir,

In contrast to the view of Professor John  Greenspan (ODT15 Nov) the fluoridation of water is arguably the least successful public health measure ever. On 9 November the American Dental Association recommended fluoridated water not be used to prepare baby formula. Are the mothers of bottle-fed babies in Dunedin now expected to visit the spring water source in Rattray Street if they want to do what is best?
 
Bruce Spittle

Letter published on Nov 26. 2006
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Letter from Susan Micheti, Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.

Dear Editor.
  
 The American Dental Association (ADA) recently reversed their 50-year-old position regarding water fluoridation and baby formula. On Nov. 9, 2006, an ADA e-gram stated, “If using a product [baby formula] that needs to be reconstituted, parents and caregivers should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride.”
  
This reversal occurred a few days after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) disallowed bottled fluoridated water marketed for babies to have a health claim, particularly concerning use in reconstituting baby formula. These new positions by the FDA and ADA were made to align consistently with scientific knowledge spelled out in the March 2006 National Research Council (NRC) review on water fluoridation, which was paid for by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and occurred under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences.
  
If our local authorities have seen page 23 of the review, they know the level of fluoride in mothers’ milk in a non-fluoridated community is only 0.004 part per million (ppm), based on the scientific authority source for the US government. If tap water is fluoridated at 1 ppm, a baby fed formula made from that tap water will ingest 250 times more fluoride than a breast fed baby. Mount Horeb fluoridates our tap water, aiming at 1.2 ppm. This makes the reality quite likely our tap water has levels that could be dangerous in the early days of a baby’s life.
  
Sweden, specifically, does not fluoridate because Nobel Laureate Arvid Carlsson was concerned that excessive fluoride levels may harm the baby’s developing brain.
  
Last week, North Baldwin Utilities in Alabama decided to stop fluoridating its water, citing that medical studies show fluoride can be harmful to infants and to elderly persons.
  
Juneau, the capital city of Alaska, also voted last week to stop water fluoridation due to medical concerns, dosage concerns, as well as philosophical opposition to government mass medication. While residents remain free to take fluoride as a supplement, there is no good reason to expose the entire population. Utility workers in Juneau suspected fluoride as the primary chemical responsible for eroding the city’s water pipes and discontinued adding fluoride to the water two years ago to save the pipes.
  
Most of Europe decided long ago not to fluoridate water, finding mass medication intolerable with democratic principles, but left the option for fluoride supplementation open for those who wanted it.
  
One percent of the population has clinical allergies and medical intolerances to fluoride, as described in the Physician’s Desk Reference.
  
In 1999, the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) dental division conceded that whatever benefit fluoride might have on teeth is only topical in nature, which does not include fluoride being systemically ingested. For those who want the topical tooth benefit, water fluoridation of the entire community is not needed because fluoridated bottle water, fluoridated toothpaste, and other fluoride products are available.
  
 In March of 2006, the Environmental Working Group wrote, “Like bones, a child’s teeth are alive and growing. Fluorosis is the result of fluoride rearranging the crystalline structure of a tooth’s enamel as it is still growing. It is evidence of fluoride’s potency and ability to cause physiologic changes within the body and raises concerns about similar damage that may be occurring in the bones.”
  
Those interested in more information may go to http://www.fluorideaction.net
  
Since the Village of Mount Horeb is dispensing fluoride medication in the water supply, how does the Village responsibly intend to make sure all parents of babies get this important information in a timely manner before it is too late?
  
 
  Sincerely,
  
Susan Michetti