Over 1300 additional professionals signed onto the Fluoride Action Network's (FAN) statement calling for an end to fluoridation as more evidence emerges to condemn fluoridation.
Now over 1,860 professionals urge Congress to stop water fluoridation and hold Congressional hearings, citing scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. See statement: http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html
Since the first FAN August 2007 statement, the following has occurred:
-- 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."- (1)
-- Researchers reporting in the Oct 6 2007 British Medical Journal indicate that fluoridation never was proven safe or effective and may be unethical. (2)
-- A qualitative review of studies found a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ, conclude 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. The panel recommended reduced fluoride exposure because it was worried children might be getting too much of the chemical.
Signers to the FAN statement include:
-- Dr. Arvid Carlsson,winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine
-- Vyvyan Howard, MD, PhD, President, International Society of Doctors for the Environment
-- Ken Cook and Richard Wiles, Environmental Working Group
-- Lois Gibbs, Center for Health, Environment, and Justice
-- Joseph Mercola, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, who runs the #1 most visited natural health website
