- Fluoridating Bedfordshire's tap water has cost our local
health authority almost £60,000 over the last two years.
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- We are in only ten per cent of the country where tap
water is already artificially fluoridated. Hexafluorosilicic (HF) acid
is added to the much of the county's supply by Anglian Water to achieve
a concentration of fluoride of 1ppm (part per million).
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- In theory our teeth will be healthier a report commissioned
by the NHS and published in 2000 concluded that adding fluoride to the
water supply reduces tooth decay in children by 15 per cent.
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- Sounds like a good idea? The problem is that fluoride
in the form of HF acid is a 'bio-accumulator', meaning that it is absorbed
by the body and can accumulate to toxic levels.
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- A mottling and discolouration of tooth enamel known as
'dental fluorosis' is a well known outcome and the NHS-commissioned report
found that almost half of the population of fluoridated areas suffered
this condition.
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- According to the Government it is merely a cosmetic issue.
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- But fluoride may also cause skeletal problems and studies
have linked high levels of ingestion to a plethora of health problems from
increased risks of bone cancer to nervous system disorders such as ME and
Alzheimer's, thyroid problems and earlier onset of puberty.
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- Some local people, led by a Stagsden dentist, want more
answers and have organised a public debate.
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- In Bedfordshire there are no plans to discontinue the
practice.
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- Dr Sue Gregory, consultant in public health to Bedfordshire
and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority, is adamant fluoridation is
perfectly safe.
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- She said: "There have been many studies in America,
both in terms of urine testing and blood samples to verify the fluoride
levels of populations who drink fluoridated water.
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- "The question of safety of water fluoridation has
been answered to the satisfaction of many reputable scientific bodies,
including the World Health Organisation, the Royal College of Physicians
and the British Medical Association, who are convinced by the evidence
from the many studies conducted worldwide over a period of at least 50
years that fluoridated water at 1ppm reduces tooth decay and has no adverse
health effects."
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- So why has fluoridation been abandoned by almost all
European countries? Critics say the studies failed to take into account
the total exposure to fluoride, which is also ingested with food and when
toothpaste is swallowed.
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- Even the NHS review concluded that insufficient high
quality research had been carried out into other possible risks to health.
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- Given all these concerns you might expect the levels
of fluoride in the Bedfordshire population to have been monitored. They
have not.
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- Although last October the Medical Research Council recommended
more research be conducted into prevalence of dental fluorosis and trends
in total exposure of children to fluoride, our local health authority is
completely convinced that the practice is safe.
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- Campaigners also argue that fluoridation is illegal
a forced mass medication without individuals' consent.
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- "Drinking fluoride-free water is not a basic human
right but a question of individual preference," says Dr Gregory. "In
a society where people come together for mutual benefit, it is a question
of balancing such personal preferences against the common good arising
from the lower levels of tooth decay which fluoridation brings."
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- A group of local anti-fluoridation campaigners remain
unconvinced and have organised a public debate on the issue next week.
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- Dr Graeme Munro-Hall, a dentist in Stagsden, has investigated
the fluoridation issue in depth and is strongly against the practice.
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- He said: "We will be bringing all relevant facts
to the the public's attention at this meeting.
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- "We will be treating the issue on a scientific basis
and letting the facts speak for themselves.
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- "We regard it as an important public health issue
and believe that it has no beneficial effect and can have a serious negative
effect on people's health.
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- "It is not only damaging the population but we have
lawyers' opinions that to put fluoride in water is an illegal activity
under the Nuremberg Convention."
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- Paul Armstrong, a local parent, has helped organise the
debate.
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- He said: "Even if only one tenth of the evidence
of the health hazards posed by water fluoridation is true, then I want
it out of my water."
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- Dr Sue Gregory and Dr Graeme Munro-Hall will participate
in an open debate at Harrowden Room, Bunyan Church Meeting Rooms, Mill
Street, Bedford on Tuesday at 7.30pm.
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- http://www.seriousaboutnews.com/cgi/xtranews/viewnews.cgi?newsid1057446000,47961,
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