The popularity of water fluoridation continues to plummet, with an entire country pulling the plug on the practice in one fell swoop in recent weeks.
On July 29, 2013, the Supreme Court of Israel noted in its ruling on a 2012 petition the State’s intention to cease compulsory fluoridation of public water supplies in 2014.
The November 12, 2012 petition from Yaacov Gurman and the Izun Hozer Association for Dissemination of Health Education demanded that the Ministry of Health order the cessation of fluoridation due to health dangers and the fact that its benefits are no longer widely accepted.
The Executive Director of the Fluoride Action Network, Paul Connett, PhD, had this to say in response to the ruling:
“Zealous fluoridation promoters try to convince the American public that ‘everyone drinks fluoridated water.’ But the opposite is true.
An overwhelming number of countries do not fluoridate, including 97% of the European population. In fact, over half the people in the world drinking fluoridated water live in the US. We are the odd ones out.
Fluoridation is an outdated, unscientific, failed public health blunder. What I find remarkable here is that Health Minister German has been able to escape the unscientific belief system on fluoridation that traps so many public health bureaucracies in fluoridated countries.”
The Dominoes Continue to Fall Against Water Fluoridation
Despite the United States being in the minority around the world with most communities stubbornly backing water fluoridation, support has continued to slowly erode with an increasing number of localities deciding to end the practice.
Most recently, the major metropolitan areas of Wichita, Kansas and Portland, Oregon rejected fluoridation by the overwhelming margin of 60% to 40%.
The biggest domino still to fall is New York City, where city council member Peter Vallone Jr. continues his fight to end fluoridation there.
Grassroots Class Action Lawsuits Best Way to End Water Fluoridation?
Want to quickly end water fluoridation where you live?
Attorney James Robert Deal says that putting your community on notice with a written letter for its legal liabilities for fluoridating the water supply may be the fastest way to success. In a letter to the city of Seattle, Mr. Deal did just that writing:
“The CDC and the EPA in January proposed to lower fluoride added to water from a typical 1.0 ppm down to .7 ppm, a 30% reduction.
They did this because the Beltran-Aguilar study, published on the CDC website, showed that 41% of kids aged 12-15 had some level of fluorosis, that 8.6% had moderate fluorosis (brown spots), and that 3.6% had severe fluorosis (brown spots with pitting and chalky teeth).
The monetary damages for veneers for these kids would be around $50,000 over the course of their lives. CDC admits liability and admits the number of kids who are permanently marred, making this the perfect class action or mass toxic tort case.”
In addition to fluorosis, the IQ of children is affected by fluoride as published by Harvard researchers in a thorough and systematic review of eligible studies through the end of 2011.
The prestigious journal Environmental Health Perspectives spotlighted the findings concerning the adverse effects of exposure to fluoride and the potential for delayed neurobehavioral development in children. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and showed that:
“… children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low fluoride areas.”
“The results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment. Future research should include detailed individual-level information on prenatal exposure, neurobehavioral performance, and covariates for adjustment.”
Extensive research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals indicates that fluoride ingestion is not only ineffective at reducing tooth decay but also harmful to health. For a thorough review of the detrimental health effects of fluoride, visit the Fluoride Action Network.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources:
Israel to End Water Fluoridation in 2014
Israel Will End Fluoridation in 2014, Citing Health Concerns
Developmental fluoride neurotoxicity: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Whoa! This is very alarming. Nevertheless, it’s nice to know there are people or the government is taking actions in eliminating this risks.
A great post. Before that, i am not aware of this fluoridation project. A really good news.
It’s great to see more and more countries and communities stepping up toe the plate and dropping their fluoridation programs. It’s very said to realized that we can’t trust our government agencies to protect us from corporations that just want to find cheap ways to get rid of their industrial waste.
So glad to hear this, I am living in Israel now. Someone told me that her dentist said the reason so many people have cavities today is because everyone is drinking filtered water so they are not getting the flouride from the water! Can you imagine!