Fluoride is found in drinking water and other everyday products like toothpaste, mouthwash, tea leaves, and some food products like meat, eggs, fish and milk. It is also found in agricultural pesticides and rat poison. Is it therefore safe for human consumption?

Water fluoridation has been a controlled quantity in drinking water since the 1950´s. The official explanation is it reduces tooth decay and is effective for preventing cavities. So why are scientists and anti-fluoride groups still voicing their concerns some 60 years on?

In the medical journal, Medical News Today, Dr Peter Crosta, M.A. points out that whilst fluoride is mostly considered “a safe and effective tool to prevent tooth decay...high levels of fluoride exposure for extended periods of time may result in harm.” He further points out that “it is possible for a lifetime high fluoride levels can lead to bone weakening and skeletal fluorosis (joint stiffness and pain.”

In extreme cases the toxic effects of excessive fluoride consumption can result in death. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting blood, diarrhea, stomach pain, salivation, watery eyes, general weakness, shallow breathing, faintness, tiredness, and convulsions.

Despite the proven risks many governmental health agencies around the world recommend that both children and adults receive some level of fluoride to protect their permanent teeth. Yet others groups are completely against it.

In the United Kingdom the Green Party describes fluoride as a poison and claims that water fluoridation violates Article 35 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, is banned by the UK poisons act of 1972, violates Articles 3 and 8 of the Human Rights Act and raises issues under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It has also been banned in some European countries. Water was fluoridated in the Netherlands from 1960 until the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled fluoridation of drinking water should not be authorized. It was determined the Dutch authorities had no legal basis for adding chemicals to drinking water if they did not improve the safety measures. Drinking water has not been fluoridated in the Netherlands since 1973.

Water fluoridation has also been discontinued in West Germany (1952-1971), East Germany (1959-1990), Sweden (1952-1971), Czechoslovakia (1953-1990), Soviet Union (1960-1990), Finland (1959-1993) and Japan (1952-1972).

Furthermore, dentistry professor David Locker argues that adding fluoride to drinking water is immoral because it infringes upon a person´s bodily integrity, a view that was also taken by the Supreme Court of Ireland in the landmark case Ryan v Attorney General in 1969.

Similar court actions have been raised in the United States on a number of occasions asserting their rights to consent to medical treatment are infringed by mandatory water fluoridation. Individuals have even sued municipalities claiming their illnesses were caused directly by fluoridation of the city's water supply. To date courts in the United States has not found water fluoridation to be unlawful and held in favor of city governors. In fact, fluoridated water is so endorsed by US institutes it is considered by the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention as “one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.”

However, research conducted by the San Diego Fluoridation Risk Assessment Committee showed that rats drinking 1 part per million of fluoride in water developed histologic lesions in their brains which is equivalent to the human condition of Alzheimer´s disease and dementia. Furthermore, the National Kidney Foundation in America changed their stance from supporting fluoridated water to taking a neutral point of view and calling for additional research.

Furthermore, in a 1986 edition of the journal Nature, a report on fluoridated water read: "Large temporal reductions in tooth decay, which cannot be attributed to fluoridation, have been observed in both unfluoridated and fluoridated areas of at least eight developed countries.”

It has also been observed that the effect of dental fluorosis is mildly cosmetic. Therefore, does fluoride really prevent tooth decay to such an extent it needs to be in our drinking water?

I currently live in Argentina and the fluoride content in bottled drinking water is 1.2 milligrams per 2 litres. I drink maybe two litres of water a day. But I also eat meat, fish, eggs and milk. How do I know I am not overdosing with fluoride poison?

On their website, the World Health Organisation (WHO) calmly announce moderate to chronic exposure of fluoride is common. Their guidelines for fluoridated water is no more than 1.5 mg per litre. However, nowhere do they mention what a safe level of fluoride consumption is.

In fact, nowhere I looked advised a safe daily dosage.WHO is currently assessing the effects of fluoridated toothpaste, milk fluoridation and salt fluoridation in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Meanwhile most of us have no choice other than to consume fluoride without knowing whether or not it harmful. Or indeed whether it´s actually doing us much good.

The crux of the matter is, under human rights laws, particularly in a democratic societies, people should have the right to decide for themselves whether we want to consume fluoridated water. Instead, the potentially poisonous substance it´s forced on us without the necessary guidelines to ensure we are not consuming harmful amounts. And politicians tell us we have the right to vote!
linklink

375 views since Oct 18, 2011 by thesecondcoming

Report This Media

 Posted by biggabum on Oct 19, 2011 12:54 AM

 Posted by Truthed on Oct 21, 2011 12:36 AM

 Posted by Truthed on Oct 21, 2011 12:44 AM