FAN Bulletin #962

May 30, 2008

Dear Supporter,

Please, please take a few minutes and sign the ONLINE letter to the members of the Louisiana House of Representatives urging them to resist the slick campaign to force fluoridation on their state. Please help get the other side of this story to these unsuspecting legislators. To sign the letter, click here.

This bill (Senate Bill 312) will force fluoridation on the whole state of Louisiana. It has already past the Senate (without a single NO vote) and has just passed the House Health and Welfare Committee without opposition. It will go the House floor shortly. To read an article discussing the bill, click here.

We have only a few days to help reverse what appears to have been a very slick campaign to capture this whole state.

To date this effort has slipped through extremely quietly with little press coverage and little visible public opposition. Although we are very late in the day it is time to make some noise. I think that after you read how this effort was masterminded you will want to make that noise. Below is how the Louisiana Dental Association outlined the PR campaign which would be used to get mandatory fluoridation in Louisiana. It is creepy just how much financial and political clout these guys can muster in their pursuit of forcing this outdated and dangerous practice on unsuspecting legislators and citizens. Here is how they saw their opportunity:
“There has been great turnover in the legislature, and it is probably safe to say that a majority of legislators are not acquainted with our issue. We plan to take advantage of this opportunity to educate our new leaders …The time seems right, politically and economically, for Louisiana to make this decision, and we have a great team of political professionals, communications experts and dentists who can spread the good word.”
Here is that “great team” described as the “Healthy Smiles Coalition”: Eunice Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners, Louisiana Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, Louisiana Dental Association, Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals, Louisiana Dietetic Association, Louisiana Fluoridation Advisory Board, Louisiana Maternal and Child Health Coalition, Louisiana Primary Care Association, Louisiana Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Louisiana State Medical Society, LSU Health Science Center School of Dentistry, New Orleans Dental Association and North Louisiana Area Health Education Center.

Do the citizens of Louisiana have any chance at all to combat this “white coat” brigade? Again, please do what you can to help the legislators in Louisiana resist this PR onslaught- and start by adding your voice to the ONLINE message at http://tinyurl.com/4w3xdg

Paul Connett

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LDA Urges Louisiana to “Tap Into a Healthier Smile!”

“Tap Into a Healthier Smile” is the theme for the LDA’s new public affairs campaign to broaden public, media and governmental awareness of the benefits of community water fluoridation and lay the groundwork for passing legislation in 2008 that could bring fluoridated water to virtually everyone in Louisiana.

The campaign is a partnership with the ADA and part of the State-Based Public Affairs Program initiated by the ADA earlier this year. With ADA funding, the LDA has hired a leading Louisiana communications firm, Creative Communications, Inc. (CCI) from Baton Rouge, to direct the public relations aspects of the project. We’ve also engaged our lobbying firm, Roedel Parsons, et al, in a new, separate contract to handle the campaign’s governmental relations aspects.

One of CCI’s initial actions will be to conduct focus groups, as well as statewide opinion polls to compile data that we expect will confirm public support for fluoridation. In addition, LDA and CCI distributed candidate questionnaires during the recent election period to get potential lawmakers to begin thinking of fluoridated water as a health care solution. The questionnaire also offered facts regarding fluoridation and is proving to be a valuable tool to help distinguish which new leaders are more likely to be receptive to the campaign.

As noted by Claire Rivette, director of governmental relations for CCI and communications director of the campaign, “There has been great turnover in the legislature, and it is probably safe to say that a majority of legislators are not acquainted with our issue. We plan to take advantage of this opportunity to educate our new leaders and give them meaningful, practical reforms to enact during their first terms in office. Plus, Governor-elect Jindal has long supported preventive health care initiatives.”

In addition, the team is working with a vast network of non-governmental groups that have an interest (positively and, perhaps, negatively) in this project. CCI made a presentation to LABI’s Health Care Task Force and asked the organization to support a position statement in favor of our position.

However, not all groups will be as receptive. That is why LDA members and other dental professionals throughout Louisiana will be invaluable sources of help.

According to Rivette, “We hope to work with the LDA to establish a ‘Speaker’s Bureau’ of local activists/dentists who can speak about the issues to local civic groups. In addition, we’ll ask our partners to participate in a grassroots/grasstops campaign of letter writing to media and key elected officials. We also hope to book them on local television morning shows, radio talk shows and meetings with editorial boards of local newspapers.”

Furthermore, the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) has agreed to fund radio and TV public service announcements (PSAs) that will run across the state during the first quarter of 2008 and be produced by our team (DHH gets final approval of content). The PSAs will refer viewers/listeners to a Web site that can be accessed for additional information on fluoridation.

The multi-faceted nature of the campaign makes for a big job that has only just begun, but the stage appears to be set for possible success. The LDA slogan “Tap Into a Healthier Smile!” is already getting positive response.

And as Rivette observed, “The time seems right, politically and economically, for Louisiana to make this decision, and we have a great team of political professionals, communications experts and dentists who can spread the good word. If our leaders are serious about improving health care in our state, the LDA’s strategy to fluoridate all the water systems in the state offers the easiest, most cost-effective way to save money and see quick results.”

So, be on the lookout for information and updates about this exciting LDA initiative. Your support is vital and appreciated.
http://www.ladental.org/cms/images/stories/Journals/LDA_Journal_Win07_WEB.pdf