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Water fluoridation - €4 million down the drain every year

category national | consumer issues | news report author Sunday March 04, 2012 17:28author by john lagan - none Report this post to the editors

Time to end 50 years of madness now!

Successive Irish governments have overseen the fluoridation of public water supplies since the practice commenced in 1964. This form of mass medication is supposed to benefit the nation's teeth.

Today 97% of Europe's water supply is fluoride free, including Northern Ireland, as this practice has been widely discredited. Eire remains the only country to fluoridate its entire public water supply.

The purpose of this article is to alert the reader to the financial cost of Eire's water fluoridation programme.

I am opposed to this policy on both health and financial grounds. There are numerous web sites reporting the adverse effects of water fluoridation so I'll try not to repeat these arguments here.

I asked Gerry Adams TD to find out the annual cost of Ireland's fluoridation programme, below is a summary of his reply:

I received an answer to a Parliamentary question I had submitted on this very issue. I've pasted this below for your information.

Written answers, Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Department of Health, Water Fluoridation

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Question 250: To ask the Minister for Health the amount the insertion of fluoride into water costs the State on an annual basis.
[8554/12] Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
The estimated annual spend for fluoridation nationally in 2011 is €3,865,406, broken down as follows:

Operational costs €2,392,266, Acid costs €1,387,561, Capital costs €85,579


As you can see, this programme cost the State an estimated €3.87 million in 2011, the costs for this year could well exceed €4 million.

I believe this is an outrageous waste of public money, especially in these dreadful financial times, and is literally money poured down the drain.

Fluoridating the public water supply is the most uneconomical method of delivering fluoride, as up to 50% is lost into the ground through leaking pipes
(http://www.independent.ie/national-news/half-of-water-l....html), of the remainder that reaches people's homes, 99% is used to wash dishes, flush toilets, wash cars etc., less than 1% is actually consumed.

Ireland adopted this policy from the USA in 1960, when the Dail passed the Health (Fluoridation of Water Supplies) Act. The legislation did not come into force until 1963, due to a Supreme Court challenge by Dublin resident Gladys Ryan. Mrs Ryan argued that water fluoridation was a form of mass medication and therefore unconstitutional (http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IESC/1965/1.html) - she was right, the government was wrong, but of course the government won.

One spurious reason given by the Attorney General, 13(ii) was "that, in any event, a citizen who objected to fluoridated water could, by the expenditure of a few pounds, remove all, or almost all, the fluoride ions from the water coming through the piped water supply." This is completely untrue. The only way to remove 100% fluoride is distillation or around 98% by reverse osmosis filtration. Water distillers or reverse osmosis filters for home use currently cost from €200, and both entail annual running costs. This is a significant cost for most people today and I'm sure it would have been relatively more expensive back in 1964 when fluoridation commenced.

I asked Clare Daly TD about her views on water fluoridation. Clare is currently leading the opposition to the imposition of household and water charges, she informed me that the government's continuance of this programme is based on The Forum on Fluoridation Report 2002. Below is a summary of her reply:

Coincidently I had put down a question to the Minister on this issue, earlier this week. Below is the answer, (if you could call it that), the usual line that is trotted out without any serious consideration given to the concerns raised.

DÁIL QUESTIONS addressed to the Minister of State at the Department of Health (Ms. Shortall) by Deputies for WRITTEN ANSWER on 11/01/2012

* 956. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the use of fluoride in our drinking water and the associated health issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

- Terence Flanagan

For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 11th January, 2012.

* 999. To ask the Minister for Health if he will explain the levels of fluoride in the Irish water supply; and the reason this chemical is included in view of the fact that it is banned in many countries.

- Clare Daly

For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 11th January, 2012.

REPLY

The Forum on Fluoridation, which reported in 2002, advised that the fluoridation of piped public water supplies should continue as a public health measure. One of the recommendations of the Forum was to amend the Fluoridation of Water Supplies Regulations, 1965 to redefine the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water from 0.8 to 1.0 parts per million (ppm) to between 0.6 and 0.8 ppm. Regulations were introduced in 2007 to give legal effect to this change.

The Irish Expert Body on Fluorides and Health, established in 2004, advises that the balance of scientific evidence worldwide confirms that water fluoridation, at the optimal level, does not cause any ill effects and continues to be safe and effective in protecting the oral health of all age groups. The report of the EU Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), published in June 2011, has not made any findings of negative health or environmental effects concerning fluoridation of water. There are no plans to discontinue the policy of fluoridation of public water supplies, which continues to make an effective contribution to oral health in Ireland.


This report (http://www.dohc.ie/publications/fluoridation_forum.html) has been widely criticised. For example, a detailed critique of this report, from a number of expert scientists on this subject from around the world, can be viewed at: http://www.realityireland.com/news/water-fluoridatio/

The current Health Minister even ignores the opposition expressed by his own profession, summarised in the Fluoridation Forum Report, Ireland 2002, as follows:

"The Irish Doctors' Environmental Association (IDEA) likewise adopted a neutral stance on the benefits of water fluoridation, and expressed its opposition to the continuation of the fluoridation of drinking water supplies. The Association has concerns regarding the addition of fluoride to the water supply, on the grounds of unknown dosage, particularly with regard to infants. It also has concerns regarding contaminants and the possible interaction of fluoride with other drugs. The Association believes that the ingestion of fluoride should be a matter of choice, and that dental decay is best prevented by dietary measures and improved dental hygiene."

Hence I believe only a financial approach for the abandonment of public water fluoridation would be given any serious consideration by the present government, including the following points:

1) In these dire financial times a significant annual cost to the tax payer can be made.

2) Europe is 97% fluoride free (http://www.fluoridefreewater.ie/Images/PercentageFluori...e.JPG)

3) Irish doctors are opposed to this policy and in particular are concerned regarding the interaction of fluoride and associated heavy metal contaminants with prescription drugs.

4) Irish citizens should have the right to choose whether or not they want to use fluoride to prevent tooth decay. The vast majority of tooth pastes on the market include sodium fluoride for that stated purpose.

Nearly 50 years of madness should be stopped ASAP - no more scientific committees required - no more public funds down the drain - we want to save money now - the rest of Europe has done so for years.

I would urge readers to write or email their TD to complain about this waste of public funds.

This potential saving of €4 million each year could:

1) Employ 40 Junior Doctors (60K + average 43K overtime) in our hospitals.

2) Employ over 150 Special Needs Assistants in our schools.

3) Reverse the government's decision to abolish the 14 year old Modern Languages in Irish Primary Schools Initiative, an estimated saving of €2 million, and thereby prevent about 300 part-time teachers from signing on the dole this Summer.

Any of the above is an infinitely more useful purpose for €4 million of our money.

author by Namorpublication date Sun Mar 04, 2012 19:37author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Good of Gerry Adams to get the info. Hope SF aren't adding ink to the water though.

author by johnpublication date Sun Mar 04, 2012 23:46author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I don't defend Aengus, but I hope this article puts Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh's "scandalous" waste of public funds into perspective.

author by Not Poisoned Yet.publication date Mon Mar 05, 2012 17:50author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Supersticious unscientific nonsense.

Ever wondered why the Irish have gleaming white teeth now?

Flouride Toothpaste never killed anybody.

author by Rational Ecologist.publication date Mon Mar 05, 2012 20:26author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Superstitious incorrectly spelt. Who says we have gleaming white teeth and toothpaste in not the issue, however, there is a warning on toothpaste-in the US-to use only the reccomended amount as there is a toxic level of fluoride in it.
If you have thyroid problems you should avoid tap water.

author by jwillie6publication date Mon Mar 05, 2012 21:12author address Lafayette, Louisiana, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

One would think that the proponents of fluoridation would insist on using only a clean pharmaceutical grade fluoride with no contaminants. Actually, the fluoride used is an industrial toxic waste fluoride (Hexafluorosilicic acid) which cures nothing and heals nothing and has never been tested or approved by FDA (in the USA) as safe and effective for human ingestion. It contains contaminants of lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, radium, and much more. It is no wonder it reduces IQ in children and damages health.

The company CEO would be arrested immediately if this waste were dumped in a river. The only way they can dump it legally is to run it through the community drinking water system first. It is the defintion of insanity.

Read the truth produced in the best scientific information on fluoridation here: (www.fluoridealert.org). You will see a petition signed by over 4000 professionals, including hundreds of dentists, hundreds of doctors, and other medical researchers calling on governments everywhere to stop fluoridation.
There are many large scientific studies there to show that drinking fluoridated water has no positive effect on cavity reduction and to show that it causes cancer, thyroid damage, broken hips from brittle bones, lowered IQ and other health problems.

Related Link: http://www.fluoridealert.org
author by Hmmpublication date Mon Mar 05, 2012 22:56author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Hey Rational Ecologist, I "recommend" you get a spell checker too before hauling up anyone else!

author by Timothy O'Learypublication date Tue Mar 06, 2012 00:00author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Look at who used Flouride to control people. Only those in the pay of the chemical companies deny the truth.

'The first occurrence of fluoridated drinking water on Earth was found in Germany's Nazi prison camps. The Gestapo had little concern about fluoride's supposed effect on children's teeth; their alleged reason for mass-medicating water with sodium fluoride was to sterilize humans and force the people in their concentration camps into calm submission. (Ref. book: "The Crime and Punishment of I.G. Farben" by Joseph Borkin. )'

Yes the Irish State is putting Flouride in the water to control us. See what this honest scientist says about flouride in the water.

"I was told of this entire scheme by a German chemist who was an official of the great I.G. Farben chemical industries and was also prominent in the Nazi movement at the time. I say this with all the earnestness and sincerity of a scientist who has spent nearly 20 years' research into the chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and pathology of fluorine - any person who drinks artificially fluorinated water for a period of one year or more will never again be the same person mentally or physically." - CHARLES E. PERKINS, Chemist, 2 October 1954.

Communists also use this trick to dominate humanity.

"I, Oliver Kenneth Goff, was a member of the Communist Party and the Young Communist League, from May 2, 1936, to October 9, 1939. During this period of time, I operated under the alias of John Keats with number 18-B-2.

While a member of the Communist Party, I attended Communist training schools in New York and Wisconsin ... and we were trained in the revolutionary overthrow of the U.S. Government. "... We discussed quite thoroughly the fluoridation of water supplies and how we were using it in Russia as a tranquilizer in the prison camps. The leaders of our school felt that if it could be induced into the American water supply, it would bring about a spirit of lethargy in the nation, where it could keep the general public docile during a steady encroachment of Communism."

Related Link: http://100777.com/node/1639

Could there be a conspiracy by the Left to brainwash us as well? Trots are often seen around reservoirs. Yet they claim that the flouride in the water will prevent the trots.

author by serfpublication date Tue Mar 06, 2012 19:03author address author phone Report this post to the editors

author by leftypublication date Tue Mar 06, 2012 19:14author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I agree, we should stop fluoridation as it is a waste of money and anti democratic. We are free to use fluoride on our teeth by the targetted application of fluoride toothpaste or not if we so desire. Mass "medication" through our water is a distasteful practice (literally) and should end. And as I've stated before, if we must be mass medicated, better to add aspirin instead of fluoride.

However as a threat to our health low levels of fluoride in the water is way down on the list as illustrated by the previous video.

author by Rational Ecologist.publication date Wed Mar 07, 2012 13:27author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Thanks to Hmmm for pointing out my poor spelling and the hypocrisy of me slagging someone else's.
I'll put a few euro in the Occupy Cork collection to purge my guilt;must be my Catholic upbringing, this guilt and self-flagellation thing!
Fluoridation in water is madness;a waste of money;pseudoscience and detrimental to health.

author by Tpublication date Wed Mar 07, 2012 13:51author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Apart from the issues of flouride itself the policy of mass medication whether you consented or not needs to be considered.

You should be allowed have a choice in this matter. After-all the offical reason for adding flouride to the water is to reduce the number of dental caries. I mean this is not exactly a life threatening situation, yet every glass of water, cup of tea, and meal cooked in boiling water contains fluroide. Besides it is already in your toothpaste, so why do you need it again?

There are much bigger and pressing public health issues. It is well known that one or two Aspirin a day reduces incidence of heart disease and there are probably many more remedies and medinces that have similar beneficial effort. So why not add these to the water? This shows the absurdity of the present system.

You have a civil right not to be mass medicated without your consent regardless of whether you believe it is beneficial or not.

author by john laganpublication date Wed Mar 07, 2012 20:13author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Thanks T, that was my fourth point, but much better stated - this was Gladys Ryan's major objection to public water fluoridation back in the early sixties.

Does anyone know what happened to Gladys?

author by Paula O'Sullivanpublication date Tue May 15, 2012 16:23author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I have an estimate of costs of Fluoridation of Irish water at being more than 15million ! I quote Declan Waugh Environmental Scientist from Bandon, Co. Cork

'Its much more than 4 million. The chemicals cost 4 million the HSE have infomed me that they spend 3 times that on overheads staff costs to run the fluoridation programme so its more like 15million per annum and that doesnt include all the costs either.'

Check out Declan's report called 'Human Toxicity, Environmental Impact and Legal Implications of Water Fluoridation

Related Link: http://www.enviro.ie/latest_news.html
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