FAN Bulletin 994
  
July 30, 2008
 
Dear Supporter,

An article in yesterday’s Toronto Globe and Mail* reported on the recommendation by a panel commissioned by Health Canada, to lower the level of fluoride added in fluoridation schemes to 0.7 ppm. That’s the good news, the bad news is the six members of the panel were hand picked by Health Canada to exonerate fluoridation of any health concerns. In essence they repeated the same ploy as the Irish Fluoridation Forum (2002): make a big pretense of concern by lowering the level used (and thus take some of the sting out of fluoridation opposition) on the basis of dental fluorosis rates (something that even they cannot hide!) but then deny any other health effects based on a very superficial  - and self-serving - review of the literature.

Four of the 6-member panel that Health Canada selected to perform this hatchet job are well known proponents of fluoridation (Jayanth Kumar, Chris Clark, Stephen Levy and Michael Levy). The other two (Robert Tardif and Albert Nantel) collaborated with Michael Levy in producing a 2007 report entitled, “Water Fluoridation: An Analysis of the Health Benefits and Risks” (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/2008-fluoride-fluorure/index-eng.php) which they did on behalf of the Institut National de Sante Publique du Quebec. It looks as if this report was rushed out in an effort to forestall Quebec City’s move to end fluoridation. If that was the intention it failed. Quebec City ended fluoridation on April 1, 2008.

This Quebec report tells us a little about the bias of Levy, Tardif and possibly Nantel. It played up the benefits of fluoridation and downplayed the risks.  For example, they claimed that the authors of the landmark review by the US National Research Council, published in 2006, reported no effects on the “immune, gastro-intestinal, renal, hepatic, neurological or endocrine systems” in the range of 2-4 ppm fluoride in water. This is untrue: the NRC authors discuss a report from the Ukraine which found a lowering of thyroid function at 2.3 ppm and two reports from China which found a lowering of IQ in children at 2.5 and 3.2 ppm, respectively.

Returning to the report cited in the Globe and Mail, the authors dismiss all health concerns caused by fluoride except dental fluorosis. These six authors use the blanket phrase, “the weight of evidence does not support” to dismiss most of all the health concerns considered. It is hard to believe that any “weight of evidence” analysis could possibly dismiss fluoride’s neurological impacts. There have now been over 40 animal studies which show that fluoride can damage the brain, and no less than 18 studies which show that fluoride lowers IQ in children, and only 2 that don’t. I look forward to reading the full report when it is made available.

But despite the shortcomings of this report, this article in the Globe and Mail has stimulated considerable press attention. It was covered on CBC radio and CTV. Hopefully, this interest by the media in the continued promotion of fluoride, will get them interested in the triple event coming up in a few days: the ISFR conference (August 7-10); the FAN conference  (August 10-11) and the CSE/FAN meetings downtown Toronto (August 11). Full details on our home page: http://www.FluorideAlert.org
 
Another development has also put the spotlight on the downtown forum. The Ontario Dental Association in its effort to thwart efforts to get some big cities to stop fluoridation (three cities in the Niagara region have stopped, Hamilton is on the brink), issued a press release calling on politicians and communities “to stand up for fluoridation.” That allowed Karen Buck (director of CSE) to issue a press release (http://fluoridealert.org/cse.html) calling on the ODA “to stand up for fluoridation and defend the practice” at our Forum on Monday afternoon. So far neither Health Canada, nor the Canadian Dental Association nor the Ontario Dental Association, has agreed to send one person to defend this practice. I know that their refusal will not sit well with local politicians and the public. Hopefully the media will pick up on this.

Karen continues to pursue Dr. Peter Cooney, Canada’s Chief Dental officer, to get someone from Health Canada to participate. They can’t all have scheduling conflicts! Health Canada recently flew TWO representatives down to defend the practice at a Council meeting in Hamilton. If they can pay for air fares to Hamilton to promote the practice, why can’t they cough up a subway ride to 25 Cecil Street to defend the practice?

If Cooney will not attend and he won’t send anyone in his place, we will play the videotape of his presentation in Dryden, Ontario on April 1 and get our panel members Dr. Bill Osmunson, Dr. Andrew Harms (former President of the South Australian Dental Association) and myself to respond to it.

If you haven’t watched Cooney’s presentation, here again is the URL for his presentation on April 1 and the URLs for my three part response on April 2 ( I have now successfully uploaded part 3 of my response).
 
 – Dr. Peter Cooney’s presentation  
 – Paul Connett’s response to Cooney (part 1) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8298672336694063917&hl=en  
 – Paul Connett’s response to Cooney (part 2) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6009890695063189914&hl=en
 – Paul Connett’s response to Cooney (part 3) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7121092110134855371&hl=en

FAN’s FUN AUCTION.

Thank you to all who have sent items for sale in our Fun Auction for Sunday evening of the FAN conference. If you haven’t sent something in yet (a book or memorabilia from a fluoridation campaign ? or anything with a chicken or parrot connection) please do asap ? our address is FAN, 82 Judson Street, Canton, NY 13617. Please include a short statement that we can read out with your gift.

Paul Connett

* Globe and Mail article, “Cut children’s fluoride exposure, report to Health Canada urges,” at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080729.wfluoride29/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/