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| Joey Hensley | |
Tennessee Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, wants all water systems in Tennessee to stop adding fluoride to water.
“It has too many side effects, and the benefits are not there to warrant giving mass drugs to the population whether they need it or not,” said Rep. Hensley, who also is a family practice physician.
FLUORIDE RISKS
* Fluorosis: Causes tooth enamel to spot, pit and stain in children 8 and younger who consume excess fluoride during critical periods of tooth development.
* Potential damage to bones, brain and thyroid gland.
* Additional risks to infants and high water drinkers, as well those with thyroid or kidney disorders, diabetics.
Source: American Dental Association, a 2006 National Research Council fluoride report.
DROPPING FLUORIDATION
Southeast Tennessee systems dropping fluoride:
* Big Creek Utility District, Grundy County
* Cagle-Fredonia Utility District: Sequatchie County
* Griffith Creek Utility District, Marion County
* Savannah Valley Utility District, Hamilton County
* Taft Youth Center, Bledsoe County
Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
A national debate about fluoride in water began spilling into Tennessee when Rep. Hensley sent a letter in 2006 to every water utility in the state, telling them there is no state requirement to add the chemical to water and he didn’t think they should.
“There were a few that used my letter to stop,” he said. “It’s not state law, and it’s not required.”
Since Jan. 1, 2006, 31 state utilities have dropped fluoride, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The agency writes fluoride guidelines into water treatment permits for utilities that choose to use fluoridation.
TDEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said 296 of the state’s 490 community water systems are fluoridated. She said systems must monitor their treated water to measure the amount of fluoride.
Many of the systems that dropped fluoridation did so because of “problems with fluoride chemical availability, quality control issues with imported fluoride powder ... and the escalating cost of liquid fluoride chemical,” she said.
Fluoride — a byproduct of fertilizer manufacture — has been added to water systems all over the nation for about 40 years to prevent tooth decay. It has been hailed by the Centers for Disease Control as one of the greatest breakthroughs in public health.
But two years ago, fluoride’s major supporter, the American Dental Association, and the National Academy of Sciences both issued warnings that baby formula shouldn’t be made with tap water to ensure infants don’t get too much fluoride.
Fluoride accumulates and can harm developing teeth, according to research reports. It also has been linked to kidney and thyroid disorders in adults.
However, ADA and CDC Web sites continue to tout the benefits of fluoride in water for the general population.
Many states, including Georgia, require the additive unless utility systems or municipalities offer a referendum so citizens may vote to have it dropped from water treatment.
Rep. Hensley said the confusion over whether fluoride in water is good or bad is understandable. When the practice began decades ago, little was known about the side effects of ingesting a chemical that, as a paste on teeth, is protective.
Now, after years of defending the practice as good for people, governments have a hard time backing down, he said.
“It’s face saving,” he said of some utilities’ and municipalities’ reluctance to let go of the practice. “They would have to then say, ‘All these years we were saying it was good for you — we were wrong about that.’”
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Over 1,950 professionals signed a statement urging Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. See statement: http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement....
You can support their efforts here: http://congress.FluorideAction.net
Recent developments:
-- The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Canada’s leading voice on environmental health issues, released a statement opposing fluoridation.
-- The National Kidney Foundation dropped its fluoridation support replacing it with this caution: “Individuals with CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease] should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure.”
-- Researchers reporting in the Oct 6 2007 British Medical Journal indicate that fluoridation was never was proven safe or effective and may be unethical.
-- “A qualitative review of ...studies found a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ,” concluded Tang el al., in "Fluoride and Children’s Intelligence: A Meta-analysis” in Biological Trace Element Research (e-published 8/10/08)
-- Scientific American editors wrote in January 2008, "Some recent studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland"
-- Dr. A. K. Susheela, a leading fluoride expert, explains in a video why US physicians overlook fluoride as a possible cause of diseases commonly caused by fluoride. http://tinyurl.com/Susheela
-- An expert panel Health Canada commissioned to study the risks of fluoride exposure says the government should cut the recommended amount in drinking water, encourage the use of low-fluoride toothpaste by children and have makers of infant formula reduce levels in their products.
53 cities rejected fluoridation this election day despite heavy funding, promotion and lobbying by organized dentistry
Health effects of fluoride: http://www.FluorideAction.Net/health
Fluoridation 101
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
Why is the USA Congress, and ALL the States Representatives in USA allowing this drinking water fluoridation affecting nearly 3/4 of American citizens?
"1/4 mg. of 'pea size' amount of fluoride toothpaste is equivalent to 1 - 8 oz. of fluoridated water"; and the DOSAGE [how much each person drinks.] cannot be controlled!
Goto " Congress.org " to send your message with questions about the 'EPA regulated pollutant' classified by EPA as Silicofluoride, an EPA 'regulated pollutant' designated by EPA as 'Hazardous Waste' is purchased by Water Treatment Utilities, and added to our Drinking waters by 10's of 100's of large cities all over USA. Where is the legal basis for polluting our drinking waters with 'Hazardous Waste', and to poison almost 3/4's of our USA Citizens?
And, when will the toothpaste manufacturers [e.g. Proctor & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive] get rid of manufacturing dangerous, risky 'poisonous' FLUORIDE Toothpaste?? There are many new BRANDS of toothpaste using the new paradigm of XYLITOL to limit bacteria that cause oral cavities; which is much safer than any toxic fluoride.
Please, Rep. Hensley, re-send that letter until this issue is addressed publicly in all our municipalities. And please include Mt. Juliet/West Wilson, where I live. I am fortunate that I was able to purchase a reverse osmosis filter to remove most or all of the flouride from my own household's drinking water, but I know many do not have this option and remain vulnerable to the hazards of flouridation. Thank you for using your influence as a medical doctor and representative to improve public health practices.