Against fluoridation

The following are excerpts from a statement released by the Greater New York Committee Opposed to Fluoridation. This committee was largely responsible for the defeat of the proposals to poison the drinking water of the largest City in the U. S. A.

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"We were thoroughly bamboozled by the impressive array of endorsements offered when Richmond began fluoridation in 1953; to our regret we endorsed the program at the time. Now the unsubstantial foundation of these endorsements is being exposed; the questionable nature of the 'evidence' is becoming clear; an increasing number of reputable scientists are breaking through the barriers of censorship and are pointing to the grave dangers involved in adding this poison to public water."

Editorial, Richmond News Leader,

Richmond, Va., Monday May 14, 1956.

Without question fluoridation is mass experiment with millions of people being used as guinea pigs. The full effect of fluoride on the health of these people may not be known for at least forty years.

Large drinkers of water and beverages, and those who work in such occupations as welding, brazing, silver soldering, foundry work, chemical packaging, etc., would have an extraordinary risk placed upon them by fluoridation. Malnourished children and those suffering from deficiency diseases and allergies are more susceptible to chronic fluoride poisoning. The hazard is also increased for adults with certain ailments as arthritis, kidney disease, diabetes, allergic disorders, etc.

1,200 cities which include approximately 2,000 communities, involving 40 million people have turned down fluoridation. Included in this list are 72 cities which have abandoned fluoridation after trying it. The changing attitude of medical opinion is one of the major reasons why most cities in this country have turned down fluoridation. That is why fluoridation has been defeated in most referendums...

While the U.S. Public Health Service (the government agency sponsoring fluoridation in the U.S.A. Ed.) idea may sound attractive, it enters on dangerous medical grounds. Every doctor knows that people react differently to medication. Some of the soundest medication proves very dangerous to certain individuals. Mass medication of the public water supply can prove dangerous to thousands of people.

Those who wish to provide fluoride for their children can do so now, without forcing it upon others who refuse this medication. Tablets are available at a very reasonable cost at your drugstore. (Whether this holds true for any cities in Canada, we are not in a position to say - Ed.). The wholesale cost to the city would be 10 cents per child per year. The very carefully prepared report of the New York Department of Water Supply shows that the cost to the City would be about one-fifth that necessary to put fluoride into the entire water supply. Tablet programs are in use in this country, in Switzerland, Germany and other places.

The proponents of fluoridation try to confuse people by comparing it with chlorination. There is no comparison between the purposes, the chemistry and the medical aspects of these two processes. Chlorine is used to kill harmful germs which may be present in water. Soon after being added to the water its poisonous properties are neutralized and destroyed. Fluoride is added with the intention of acting upon the bodies of people who drink the water. When fluoride is added to the water it is poisonous. When it is drawn from the tap and enters the body it is still poisonous. The more water you drink the more poison you take into your system, the longer you drink the water the more fluoride accumulates in your system. The accumulation of fluoride leads to chronic fluoride poisoning fluorosis.

And 30,000 lb of fluoride chemical would be required to fluoridate New York City's water supply each day in order to deliver 4 lb of the chemical to the children for whom it is intended. Less than one gallon in 5,000 of the fluoridated water would be consumed by the children who are supposed to be benefited.

The control of the dosage to the children would be impossible since scientific investigation reveals that children drink different amounts of water, some 25 times more than others. Some would get too little and, what is more serious, some would get too much.

Fluoridation violates the right of the individual to choose his personal medical treatment. It is totalitarian in conception, it disregards the individual liberty and rights of the person and is therefore UNAMERICAN (and, may we add, UN-CANADIAN Ed.)

The prevention of tooth decay deserves every body's support. Poor teeth may be due to poor health, poor diet or both. Fluoride cannot substitute for correct diet, and proper dental and medical care. Authorities agree that the addition of a highly toxic chemical to the water supply is not the answer to the dental decay problem.