Bulletin #727

December 27, 2006

Dear All,

Before we get to the piece below on “keeping an open mind”, I have some very exciting news to report on the fundraising for FAN’s fluoridation fighting fund for 2007. Yesterday was like getting two Christmas days in a row!

Since yesterday’s bulletin we have raised a magnificent $1035 in new donations. Our new total stands at $3080 which means that we have just $1920 more to raise to get to our mini-goal of $5000, which will in turn be doubled by an anonymous donor to yield $10,000, if we can reach this goal by midnight Dec 31. Thus, we need $1920 in four more days.

This remains a very exciting challenge and if you want to join in with your own tax-deductible contribution it is is very easy – and very important - to do. A donation to FAN (small or large) can be made by simply using our secure, online donation system at: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=5061 (if this is not live in your system please copy and paste). Donations can also be sent by mail to: AEHSP-FAN, PO Box 5111, Burlington VT 05402.

Keeping an open mind

It has always been my firm belief that any one with an open mind who reads the arguments and the scientific literature on the ineffectiveness and dangers of fluoridation, will come out against this practice. Every day seems to bring us – in the form of a phone call, or an email or a newspaper article – news that another dentist, doctor, water department official has done just that. The latest example is contained in an excellent article which appeared in yesterday’s Cincinnati Post (see below). In this case, Joan Ferrante, a sociology professor from Northern Kentucky University, saw the light after reading Chris Bryson’s book, “The Fluoride Deception”. She describes this book as the “most well-researched book that I have ever come across in my career.”

Carol Kopf (NYSCOF@aol.com) tells us that, according to Wikipedia, Joan Ferrante holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati  and that she is best known as the author of several popular sociology textbook , among them “Sociology: A Global Perspective” . As such she might well appreciate letters from other countries confronted with robotic like adherence to this practice.   

Thus, if you have the time, please email Professor Joan Ferrante at and thank her for her “open mind” on this issue and provide her with more information that will encourage her that she and her students are on the right path. As we can anticipate that this article will trigger the local fluoridation promoters to write into the paper attacking her views, it would also be good to send short letters to the paper in support of her position. The web address for Letters to the editor is  .

It goes without saying that we need more professors like Joan Ferrante and more people – from all walks of life - with an open mind. Here is hoping that we will be able to reach a critical mass of open minds in 2007 and end water fluoridation once and for all.

Paul Connett
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>From the Cincinnati Post:

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061226/NEWS01/612260368

The case against fluoride in water

Post staff report

Northern Kentucky University sociology professor Joan Ferrante buys copies of the book “The Fluoride Deception” by Christopher Bryson and gives them to people she meets.

“I think it is the most well-researched book that I have ever come across in my career,” said Ferrante, who loves research and prefers it to two other main sources of knowledge - authorities and personal experience.

The book “The Fluoride Deception” cites research to argue that fluoride - best known for being put in public water systems to prevent cavities in teeth - is bad for people.

Ferrante says she once believed fluoride was good for you, but after reading the book, now believes fluoride is bad and shouldn’t be put in public water systems.

However, her credo is keep an open mind, so she’s open to research that will make her believe otherwise.

“I am looking for information that will change my mind about the conclusion I have drawn,” she said. “I try to live my life that way. I am always looking for ideas that might prove me wrong.”

Ferrante uses the topic of fluoride and “The Fluoride Deception” book in her social research methods class.

“It’s interesting how people react to ideas that challenge their beliefs,” she said. “Some people will shut down to such ideas without giving them the time of day. A closed mind is a very dangerous thing.

“I encourage my students to try to find credible information that will discount the findings in the book.”

Ferrante has her students look at a tube of toothpaste at home.

She says any brand with fluoride in it will carry a warning something like: “Keep out of the reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, get medical help or contact a poison control center immediately.”

Ferrante’s students explore why there’s so much variation among states when it comes to fluoridated water.

Kentucky is the national leader in percentage of population with fluoridated public water systems - 96.8 percent. Utah is the lowest at 2 percent.

“Kentucky has a lot of poverty and fluoride was originally put in water to address cavities among the poor,” noted Ferrante, who said she’s been told by people in Utah that people there don’t like government intervention in natural things like water.

Using state statistics, students in Ferrante’s class correlate health problems in areas with and without fluoridated water.

“There are very high correlations between fluoridated water and children with attention deficit disorder, adults with arthritis and bone cancer deaths,” said Ferrante. “Surprisingly, there is more tooth loss in areas with fluoridated water.”

There are some correlations between fluoridated water and fewer cavities.

“I acknowledge fluoride probably does reduce cavities to some extent,” said Ferrante. “The question is, is it worth the other effects?

“Another question is, how do you control the amount of fluoride you get? What if you drink eight glasses of water a day? What if you swim a lot, how much fluoride is absorbed in the skin? What about crops produced with fluoridated water? It’s amazing where water goes.”

Ferrante said that while she keeps an open mind, the research conducted by her students leads her to believe that there’s more harm than good in fluoride. Unless a future class comes up with something different, she says she’s not drinking tap water.

 
Send Joan Ferrante ferrantej@nku.edu information that will encourage her that she and her students are on the right path:
 
Letter to the editor:  http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/EDIT0202/302160003