FAN Bulletin #973

June 14, 2008

Dear Supporter,

Do you know anyone in the Ottawa (Canada) area? If you do please encourage them to attend a debate on fluoridation there this coming Tuesday (June 17) at 12 noon on the University of Ottawa campus (see announcement below for directions). The meeting has been organized by the Green Party. And the debate will be between myself and Dr. Don Droste a water quality specialist from the University of Ottawa.

This could be very interesting. As most of you know, promoters of fluoridation are discouraged from debating anyone with scientific qualifications (I wonder why?). In 12 years I have only had 5 1/2 formal debates on this issue:

1. With a professor of dentistry in NJ.
2. With a legislator (and former marine) in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
3. With a legislator (a veterinarian) in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia
4. With Dr. Cluck (a life-sized stuffed chicken) in Geelong, Victoria, Australia
5. With Dr. Ewan Swann (Canadian Dental Association) and Dr. David Locker (University of Toronto) on the Discovery Health Channel in the Medical Hotseat series. This can be viewed at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8651924132181016035
6. With Professor Michael Lennon, President of the British Fluoridation Society on the Isle of Man, November 20, 2007 (videotape recording in preparation).

I have also offered to debate any one in Southampton, UK. as part of their “public consultation” process. I issued this challenge while being interviewed over the phone for a pro-con piece for the local newspaper (Hampshire News). The pro-side was presented by the Chief Dental Officer of the UK. This piece appeared in today’s edition. I am very optimistic about the outcome in Southampton, because, like the Isle of Man, the people are engaged in the debate, there are some good organizers in town and the media is doing a really good job of making sure people are getting both sides of the debate. The pro-con piece can be viewed at
http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/hampshirenews/display.var.2342148.0.fluoride_experts_give_their_views.php.

Meanwhile, online messages are flooding into the State Senators in Louisiana. Let’s hope that they copy the Canadians and the Brits and have a modicum of a debate on this issue instead of being led blindly by the nose by public relations firms. Previously SB 312 had sailed through the Senate without a NO vote, but it is back there after the House made some changes. This has given the Senators an opportunity to take a second look about a bill which would force fluoridation on the whole state. As of this morning 226 online messages have been sent in.

Thanks to all of you who sent in a message ? especially those who put one or two sentences (explaining who you are and why you care about this, even though you live outside Louisiana) before the text we provided.  http://tinyurl.com/3s4fmc

I have been reading every message you sent and I have been really impressed with how much time people have spent on this. One letter that I really liked was one from Eleanor Krinsky, a wonderful person from Long Island (and member of NYSCOF) who has worked tirelessly on this issue for over 30 years. I don’t think there has been a community which has been threatened by fluoridation during that time that Eleanor has not tried to help. She was one of the first people who contacted us when the matter was raised in our village of Canton, NY, 12 years ago. Her letter is so good that I think that if you add your own introductory sentence and another phrase in the title line, you might wish to copy and paste it in (I have shortened her original message) using our ONLINE MESSAGE system at http://tinyurl.com/3s4fmc

Dear Louisiana Senator:

       No one goes through life making no mistakes, and often the mistake cannot be remedied.  But there is a huge mistake you have made that you can correct, now that Bill S. 312 calling for mandatory fluoridation is back in your lap, following the House vote on June 12th.

       Clearly, when you and your colleagues voted through S. 312, it was with good intentions, but without adequate and vitally important information.  Those of us aware of fluoridation’s negative, health-damaging and disappointing effects are trying to fill that void.

       From my knowledge, I understand these votes by your Senate and House were taken without a hearing.  Is that permissible under Louisiana law?  A full, fair and objectively conducted hearing would have been an opportunity to help fill that void.

Even at this juncture (and it is never to late to correct a mistake) such a hearing would enable you to find out more about the adverse health effects documented in the 507-page report by the National Research Council  ”Fluoride in Drinking Water,” published in 2006. This was summarized in the January 2008 issue of the Scientific American. The author quotes the chairman of the NRC panel as follows:

“What the committee found is that we’ve gone with the status quo regarding fluoride for many years-for too long, really-and  now we need to take a fresh look,” Doull says. “In the scientific community,  people tend to think this is settled. I mean, when the U.S. surgeon general  comes out and says this is one of the 10 greatest achievements of the 20th  century, that’s a hard hurdle to get over.  But when we looked at the  studies that have been done, we found that many of these questions are  unsettled and we have much less information than we should, considering how  long this [fluoridation] has been going on. I think that’s why fluoridation  is still being challenged so many years after it began. In the face of  ignorance, controversy is rampant.”

If these important scientists can take a second look at fluoridation, won’t you?

Please think of new titles for your messages. Here are a few that you could use: “Don’t poison Louisiana. Table SB 312″ “Protect kids. Table SB 312″ “Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Table SB 312.” “Poor Kids need dentists not poison. Table SB 312″

Thank you all again for everything you do.

Paul Connett

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PUBLIC DEBATE IN OTTAWA

Should Municipal Water be Fluoridated?

The Green Party of Canada says NO. Many others disagree. Come out and hear a public debate and discussion on this topic.

FOR: Dr. Ron Droste, Water Quality and Treatment, CVG, University of Ottawa

AGAINST: Dr. Paul Connett, Director, Fluoride Action Network, Canton, NY

WHEN? Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at NOON

WHERE? Room B013, SITE Building, University of Ottawa

For a map of the University of Ottawa and the SITE Building click on the address below.  

The SITE Building is the building at the south of the U of O. Underground paid parking is      
available under the Brooks residence off of Thomas-More Street, four blocks north of the    
SITE building.

http://www.uottawa.ca/maps/CampusMap.pdf

For more information contact Jake Cole