In Their Own Words: Why Public Officials Oppose Fluoridation
Here is a small sample of quotes from public officials explaining why they oppose fluoridation:
Irish Senator Mary Ann O’Brien (Irish In dependent, 10/1/14)
“My job as a senator is to protect the people, not to protect a failed government policy. It is inarguably a breach of human rights to drug a population against their will, via the water system… My motion in the Senate is to give back the human right to choose what drug each Irish citizen does or does not take into their body. I urge everyone to put pressure on their TDs, councilors and anyone else in a position of power to join the fight for Ireland’s health freedom.” – (Read Entire Letter)
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Ralph Nader, Independent & Green Party Presidential Candidate (FAN Press Release, 6/11/11)
“There should be no mandatory fluoridation without the approval of people in a public referendum preceded by full and open public debate with disclosures. There is an old Roman law adage that says, ‘What touches all should be decided by all.”
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Joey Hensley, Tennessee State Representative & Family Practice Physician (Letter, 12/6/06)
“As a legislator and practicing physician serving in the Tennessee Legislature, I am writing this letter to advise you of my recommendation that water districts in Tennessee no longer add fluoride to drinking water supplies…There is no requirement to add fluoride and with the new evidence of possible risks to various organs in the body and the very limited benefit of continued fluoridation, it would be prudent for each water system to weigh all the evidence concerning risks to the water customers they serve. 1would urge you to end the practice of adding fluoride for the welfare of your friends and neighbors.”
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Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy, Cornwall, Ontario (Cornwall Seaway News, 5/25/16)
“Ten people have emailed me to tell me they want fluoride, as opposed to the hundreds who have told me they don’t want it. I’ve listened and reviewed the material sent to me…therefore, what I have been doing is listening to the people. Overwhelmingly the people have said they don’t want fluoride in their water. Whatever their reason doesn’t really matter. They are telling me to support them.”
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Council Mayor Bob Manning, Cairns Regional Council, Australia (The Cairns Post, 11/23/16)
“Councils are not engaged in public health. Local Government doesn’t carry that expertise. The senior levels of Government are being quite mischievous here. This has become a pattern over the past couple of years. This council has never voted against fluoride. This council has voted against the method of delivery. Why not have a form of delivery that you can go buy that service. This is not a sledgehammer to just whack everybody over the head with.”
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Peter Vallone, Jr., City Councilmember, New York City (Queens Gazette, 5/23/12)
“This legislation will have an immediate and critical impact – the city will save between seven and 10 million dollars per year, and New Yorkers will no longer ingest a toxic chemical every time they take a sip of water, take a shower or wash a piece of fruit. While four out of five dentists may be enough to pick a gum, all should agree before we force-medicate the public. I hope to prevent little babies from being poisoned. No one should be forced to ingest this toxic poison every day of their life.”
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U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (Daily Beast, 7/20/14)
“I remember as a kid, one of the big battles going on was about fluoridation of the water. Well, I don’t know whether or not fluoridating the water helps people’s teeth become better or not. I don’t know that. But, I do know that in this country, we should be the ones who should be deciding what we put into our bodies one way or the other. Not the federal government or the local government putting fluoride into our water. A lot of these things come down to freedom issues. They come down to whether or not we will control our own destiny. The fact that we will be consistent with what our founding fathers had in mind for us in controlling our own lives.”
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Anthony Connaghan, City Councilor, Dublin, Ireland (The Journal, 10/7/14)
“My motion seeking to end water fluoridation in Ireland was approved at Dublin City Council last night. 98% of Europe has rejected the practice of water fluoridation and it was banned in Holland in 1976. Numerous studies worldwide have indicated potential harm to human health from adding fluoride to our drinking water. Why are we taking this risk when dental health can be dealt with by conventional methods? There’s a lot of questions to be answered. My argument is it’s universal medication, it’s one size fits all, but even the World Health Organization, which recommends fluoride, recommends it – but only where intake of fluoride is known. Even our own government should be looking into it more…[removing fluoride] is in the interest of safety and erring on the side of safety”
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Guildford Water Authority, Pennsylvania (USA Today, 3/15/16)
“We are making this change because the authority recognizes there are conflicting opinions about the benefits of water fluoridation…We believe we should not put anything into the water that is not required by regulation to maintain the potability and pH balance of your water.”
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Dale Kropidlowski, Saukville Water Superintendent, Wisconsin (Ozaukee Press 4/13/16)
“After considering the overall annual operational and maintenance expenses, including testing, the committee decided it was not worth the expense to continue infusing fluoride into the village’s water system for such a small added value. There are 1,000 milligrams per liter of fluoride in most tooth paste (about 2,000 times more than is available from treated water), as well as many other avenues, such as mouth washes and dental application.”
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Board Member Bill McGriff, Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee (N00ganomics, 7/20/16)
“I have read the reports’ pros and cons. I have seen firsthand what the fluorosilicic acid does to pipes, the concrete. It was a hard decision, but I thought, weighing both sides, that it’s better not to add something that could be destructive — we’re told in small amounts it’s not destructive — but I just thought it’s better to err on the side of safety.”
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Jim Bohl, Alderman, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Letter, 5/22/12)
“New research shows that ingesting fluoride delivers health risks without benefit of less tooth decay which makes water fluoridation obsolete, unhealthy and a waste of money, and that is why I introduced legislation calling for the end of Milwaukee’s water fluoridation program…We have served as guinea pigs in this ongoing and failed experiment for far too long. In my position as Alderman, it is my duty to promote the health, safety and welfare of all our residents. Adding fluoride chemicals into our public water supply runs counter to this and therefore needs to end.” – (Read his entire statement)
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Damian Quiqq, County Councilor, Kerry, Ireland (Fluoride Free Towns Release, 11/12/14)
“It was evident to me during my election campaign that a lot of people were very vocal on their concerns about their water supply being medicated by fluoride against their will and they were asking for this to be addressed. I carried out a small degree of research and found that in other countries across Europe and in N Ireland that fluoridation of water does not exist, for me this was alarming. I am elected to voice the concerns of the public and I will continue to do this. This was passed unanimously in KCC, no other Councillor from any party disagreed with my motion in calling on the removal of Fluoride from our water supply here in Co Kerry. I hope that other councils around the country will follow suit. Irish water expect us now on top of this to add insult to injury to pay for the water that they medicate against our wishes, they must be joking, I personally will not be paying one red cent as I do not or my family do not want fluoride in our water supply. I will continue to support the campaigns for the removal of fluoride from our water supply going forward.”
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“The federal government should have zero…nothing to do with the promotion of fluoridation unless it’s on a military base…and hopefully there they would do the right thing. So no, federal fluoride promotion shouldn’t exist, they shouldn’t be telling you or anyone else what should happen because even though it was well intended at the time–I remember that I thought it was a bad principle because in a way it was massive treatment–and at the time everybody accepted the idea that fluoride was great and that you would never get a cavity and there was no downside, now there is a big question, that’s why you don’t want government doing these kinds of things. You or I should decide, someone should give us bottled water with fluoride, or we should have the ability to buy water with fluoride, but we should not have the federal government promoting fluoridation…sometimes their right, most of the time their wrong. They shouldn’t have the authority to do this. Especially with the information out there now about fluoride, I would do my best to stop federal involvement with state and local fluoride decisions.”
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David Harrison, County Councilor, New Forest, U.K. (Daily Echo, 10/28/14)
“Firstly [rejecting a plan to fluoridate] is good for the people of Southampton and the surrounding area that would have received this medication via their tap water. But it’s also good news because I think it sends out a message nationally that public health bodies cannot impose their wishes [upon] people without their consent.”
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Dave Dawson, Water Board Member, Snowmass, Colorado (Aspen Times, 7/20/15)
“Only recently have the studies been done on the effects of fluoride beyond your teeth. People can fluoridate if they wish. I don’t see it as our business to medicate the public.”
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Mayor Terrill Hill, Palatka, Florida (Palatka Daily News, 5/14/15)
“My concern is we are forcing it on individuals who don’t necessarily want it. The health department works with people more individually. I think we should work with the health department to see what programs they have in place. The topical fluoride seems to be another alternative.”
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Former Deputy Mayor Tamara Stomp, Kingsville, Ontario (Blackburn News, 4/28/15)
“There is concern that too much fluoride causes fluorosis. In trying to make teeth better for some people in the population who are susceptible to that condition, it makes it a lot worse (for others) — it makes them sick.”
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David Crausby, Member of Parliament, Bolton North East, U.K. (Bolton News, 5/6/14)
“I understand the arguments about children’s teeth, but each individual should decide what they take in their water. It’s fundamental. If you agree to the principle that the government can add to water, they might put all sorts of things in the water. Our water should be pure and to put fluoride in water is mass medication, which is illegal.”
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Michelle Stennett, Idaho State Senator (MichelleStennett.com, 3/7/16)
“HCR34 sought to recognize community water fluoridation as a significant public health achievement. My testimony clarified that 70% of public water supplies in the US contain artificially fluoridated water. Fluoride is a mineral, not an essential nutrient. No disease, not even tooth decay, is caused by a fluoride deficiency. The dose is impossible to control since everyone consumes different amounts. Infants drinking baby formula and competitive athletes may ingest more than the average person. Fluoride accumulates in the body, largely in calcifying tissues such as bones, and can pose a health risk…[Fluoridation] is a form of medical treatment, where other treatments that are chemically added are for water quality or safety, which fluoride does not do. I just can’t support it. It has some detriment to your body.”
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Ron Jean, Streets Superintendent for the City of Attica, Indiana (Fountain County Neighbor, 3/23/16)
“The pipe at the “T” by the air stripper has had to be replaced in the area where fluoride is pumped into the water supply due to corrosion. It has been replaced for the 3rd time since installing the air stripper in 2012 at a cost of $850 for the replacement parts.”
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Joe Markley, Connecticut State Senator (WeAreChangeCT, 2/11/13)
“The more I’ve looked at it, the science of it is perhaps more debatable than a lot of people realize…I’ve found peer-reviewed articles in very reputable publications that bring up questions about, first of all, the efficacy of fluoridation through the water versus the topical application of fluoride in toothpaste or by a dentist. And second, the effects of fluoride, specifically questions raised about whether it causes brittle bones that might lead to hip fractures, whether it has had a developmental impact in some cases, whether it has an effect on thyroid function; lots of different questions have been raised…It’s a very strange way of [distributing fluoride] by dumping it in the water. You aren’t controlling dosage at all…like anything it has different effects on different people. And the other thing is a huge percentage of it doesn’t do anyone’s teeth any good because it’s being used to wash clothing, or dishes, or cars, or whatever else you use the water for at your house.”
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