FAN Bulletin 881

October 4, 2007

Dear All,

I am very happy to share with you the exciting news that opponents of fluoridation, despite being outspent by opponents 22 to 1 (i.e. $163,000 versus $7500) won a huge victory in Juneau, Alaska yesterday. The final tally was nearly 2 to 1 against fluoridation (see story below and more coverage on our home page: http://www.FluorideAction.net There are about 1500 absentee votes but there is no way they can tip the balance and in fact they might even widen the margin.

Here are some comparisons in communities where fluoridation opponents were greatly outspent but where they still won:

1) Bellingham WA (2005)

Proponents: $258,493
Opponents: $17,000
See: http://www.noforcedfluoride.org/followthe.html
http://www.fluoridealert.org/news/2481.html

2) Worcester MA (2001)
Proponents: $400,000
Opponents: $5,196
See: http://www.fluoridealert.org/news/723.html

We can learn a lot from this victory.

To beat fluoridation you need:

an informed public – the more people know about this issue the less likely they are to vote for fluoridation. The more people know the less likely they will be fooled by slick advertising even when orchestrated by highly paid PR firms. The other side only has a facade of “authority”. Once that – and the name calling of opponents – is stripped away their arguments are very hollow. The proponents cannot produce good scientific studies that prove that fluoridation is effective, nor solid scientific evidence which refutes the health concerns outlined by the National Research Council. Even an elementary analysis will quickly demonstrate that the meager (if any) benefits cannot possibly outweigh the huge potential risks. Any toxicologist would have to admit there is simply no margin of safety for these risks when we consider exposing a whole population to fluoride at 1 ppm. Nature by some Godly or other process had already demonstrated this when it determined the fluoride level in mothers milk to be 0.004 ppm.
a well-organized and dedicated grass roots effort. It takes shoe leather; knocking on doors and talking to friends, neighbors and colleagues. It also needs letters and op-ed pieces to the local newspaper.
some local professional people to get up to speed on the issue and take on the robots turned out by “professional bodies” like the ADA.
local media who take a genuine interest in the issue and do a professional job covering the story and allowing both sides equal time to have their say.

In some cases you can even win without much help from the media (e.g. Bellingham, Washington and Worcester, Massachusetts, see above) but it is much harder when they refuse to do a professional job because editors have already been captured behind closed doors (Burlington, Vermont was a classic case of this).

Fortunately for the people of Juneau they had everything going for them except a comparable budget. The paper – the Juneau Empire –was exceptional in its balanced coverage and opportunity for both sides to articulate their views.

If we could only get a nationally recognized newspaper or magazine to do a similar professional job – fluoridation would be over in a very short time. All we need is a little national light on the truth.

Meanwhile, please send your congratulations to Dr. Emily Kane at , who I am sure will share your applause with the many people who helped to make this magnificent victory possible. You might also wish to thank Dr. Hardy Limeback (an NRC panelist) for traveling from Toronto to Juneau to help in the battle with a scientific presentation. Hardy’s email address is .

Paul Connett
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Juneau Empire

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/100307/loc_20071003028.shtml
And
http://www.fluoridealert.org/news/3081.html

Web posted October 3, 2007

Juneau says no to fluoride: Proposition fails 61 to 37 percent

Brian Wallace / Juneau Empire

Juneau’s voters delivered a resounding “no” to fluoridating the city’s water supplies on Tuesday, putting an end, for now, to one of the most hotly contested and expensive ballot initiatives in the city’s history.

BALLOT MEASURES

Water fluoridation

YES: 2,926
NO: 4,769

Vote totals are unofficial results as of press time.

“There’s a lot of smart people in Juneau and they understood the issue very well and it was reflected in the result at the polls,” said David Ottoson, owner of Rainbow Foods and member of the anti-fluoridation group Juneau Citizens for Safe Water.

Karen Lawfer, spokeswoman for the pro-fluoridation group Citizens Promoting Dental Health, said she was disappointed and that there was a “fear factor” at the polls Tuesday.

“A lot of people, oftentimes, they vote with fear, and I can understand that,” Lawfer said. “We won’t see the fallout of this for another couple of years when people see the decline in dental health.”

Ottoson said there are better ways to deliver fluoride to those who aren’t getting it.

“Everybody wants our kids to have healthy teeth, and there’s other ways to do that besides putting it in the water,” Ottoson said.

As for the American Dental Association, which funded most of the pro-fluoridation’s $151,000 campaign, Ottoson said he hopes the group will continue its involvement in this community past this election.

“We’d like to see them participating in some of these other solutions. That (money) could have bought a lot of fluoride varnishes, and fluoridated toothpaste for people who can’t afford it,” Ottoson said.

Dr. Emily Kane said she hopes the community “can work together to repair the rift” caused by this election.

“Our common interest in improved dental hygiene supersedes our differences in approach,” Kane said.

Kane practices naturopathic medicine and is starting a task force to reinstate a program that will provide fluoride varnishes for kids. She also said that SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is now able to provide complete dental care to any child who does not qualify for Medicare because of a new grant.

Fluoride was taken out of the city’s water supply last year after the Juneau Assembly voted against it. They acted on the recommendations of a city commission that studied the issue for two years.

Mayor Bruce Botelho said he expects to see the issue of providing more dental care through the schools to come before the Juneau Assembly in the next few weeks.