Fluoridation Opposed In England

The following are extracts from a leaflet published in England by "The Defendant:

Who Started Fluoridation?

The U. S. Federal Security Agency headed by Oscar Ewing who was formerly a lawyer to aluminum interests, and who used his temporary power to push fluoridation. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of TAXPAYERS' MONEY  were used to propagate this programme, which will so greatly benefit the health of the aluminum industry.

Is Fluorine Harmless?

Definitely not.

Animals die sooner if given fluoridated water. What about human beings? Dr. Feltman, research dentist at Passiac, N.J. Hospital, spent four years, studying children and expectant mothers who had had the equivalent of the fluorine water dosage. Some women had such bad reactions — vomiting and skin inflammation — that even this small dosage had to be discontinued. Grand Rapids, first town to fluoridate, has suffered an abnormal increase in deaths from heart and kidney diseases. Dr. A. R. Gould, of San Francisco, has filed with the City Health Department a report on his patient, Mrs. Frieda Zwerling, who has suffered a very distressing dermatitis of the whole body, cracked tongue, inflammed inner cheeks, etc. This was only cured when she abandoned the use of the fluoridated city drinking water. Many other citizens of San Francisco, including Dr. Gould himself, also suffer. Dr. Paul Manning of Springfield, Mass. polled 1500 dentists and found that NOT ONE gave fluoridated water to his own family. Report of the Commission on Scientific Investigation, Academy of Restorative Dentistry, 1953, says, "There has been some evidence to show that ingestion of fluorine may cause mental retardation in children."

And so on. We have great quantities of authoritative judgment on fuorine and its effects. We challenge contradiction, and will willingly elaborate and substantiate these remarks.

Will it Cure Dental Caries?

No. It is claimed that it will reduce caries in children up to the age of about 10 years. That is all.

Dr. Max Ginns, senior dental surgeon at Worcester, Mass. City Hospital, says that fluorine cannot prevent dental decay. Only diet and hygiene can do that. He ardently supported fluoridation until study convinced him that the dosage cannot be controlled, and that some people are allergic to it.

Why is there a Moral Objection?

Because parents are responsible for their children, and must decide what drugs shall be administered. Doctors may only advise. Nobody, whether doctor or politician, may compel medication against the will of the patient; unless the exercise of freedom of choice infringes the rights of other people.

Chlorine is not medicine. It is used to purify water, not to remedy illness. Again if I refuse chlorine, I risk typhoid and become a danger to others. If I refuse fluorine I involve no one else — dental caries is neither contagious nor infectious. It is purely my own affair.

There are at least six different ways in which fluorine can easily be used without forcing other people to take it against their wills.

Will it Stop at Fluorine?

No. Once the precedent of compulsory mass dosing is established, anything can be done at the whim of the goverment in office, or of a permanent official. Fluoridation itself means not only fluorine, but fluorides, that is a compound of fluorine and other elements or chemicals. We actually get sodium fluoride, sodium silico-fluoride, hydro-fluosilicic acid, or hydro-fluoric acid. If feed-lines become encrusted, something else, is added, such as metaphosphate. Remember how quietly AGENE crept into our daily bread, and remember the fight we are having to get rid of this poisonous substance.

And one last quotation — "It has not yet been proved that fluorine compounds in water may not seriously interfere with the iodine content and so increase the incidence of thyroid diseases." (Med Council Research Memo 18, and B.M.J. 25/10/52.)

NOW — Do you still welcome the Dosing of your Drinking Water with Fluorine?

(As reported in the NEW TIMES)