FAN Bulletin 922
   
January 7, 2008
 
Dear Supporter,

There are several items today.

1) Norway and Sweden ban mercury amalgams. First some very good news on a related front. Both Norway and Sweden have now banned any use of mercury, including mercury amalgams, as of January 1, 2008. To read the press release from the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, click here. Mercury amalgams is the ADA’s other “sacred cow” and so any undermining on their position of the “safety and effectiveness” of this product, helps to undermine its credibility on water flubrain damageoridation.

2) ADA approves aspartame gum. Meanwhile, the ADA has extended its “seal of approval” to another highly dubious product -chewing gum containing aspartame. To read the announcement from Wrigley’s click here, and to read the confirmation from the ADA, click here.
 
3) Apologies to Carol Kopf for inadvertently cutting off her response to the Toronto Star-ACSH piece, in our last FAN bulletin. We have printed her missing comments below.

4) More responses to Armfield. Yesterday, the Australia & New Zealand Public Health Policy online journal posted a response I have written responding to Jason Armfield’s response to my critique of his Easley-type article slamming opponents of fluoridation. Four responses to his articlehave now been posted: 1) My original critique; 2) Bruce Spittle’s comments; 3) Armfield’s response to my critique, and 4) my response to his response. Armfiled’s original article can be viewed online here and the four responses can be accessed by clicking on Readers Comments (right hand side).

5) Professionals’ Statement. The list of professionals signing the professionals’ statement continues to grow. We are adding names at the rate of about 2 or 3 a day. The current total stands at 1,266 and if we can maintain this rate we should reach our goal of 2,000 before the year’s end. Please help get as many of your qualified friends and colleagues to sign on as you can. Remember we are not only looking for people in the medical and dental fields but also vets, professionals in academia, lawyers, water department personnel, and people holding positions in environmental groups. The statement can be accessed from our home page- fourth item down.

Thanks for everything you are doing to make 2008 a very special year in the long battle to end fluoridation worldwide.

Paul Connett
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Here is the email that Carol Kopf sent into the Star correcting the biased interpretation of the events discussed:

Fluoridation hazards are rooted in science and are NOT unfounded as the American Council on Science and Health reports, from which your article was apparently taken.
 
The ACSH pro-fluoridation stance has continually been refuted.
You said it’s unfounded that adding fluoride to tap water can cause health problems like fluorosis, abnormal thyroid function, lower IQ and osteosarcoma.
 
But you are wrong, a National Research Council expert panel found that fluoride even at low levels added to water supplies can damage the thyroid, leading chairman, toxicologist Dr. John Doull to say “The thyroid changes do worry me.”
 
The US Centers for Disease Control tells us that up to 51% of U.S. school children have fluorosis.
 
 Many published peer-reviewed studies show fluoride can cause brain damage and cancer, including osteosarcoma.
 
I’m afraid your reporter didn’t do her homework. You need to correct this misinformation and ‘fess up about where it came from.
 
Carol Kopf, BS, MA
104 Meridian Road
Levittown, NY  11756