Communities Taking Action to Remove Fluoridation Chemicals & CDC Stats Showing That Show We’re Winning
There have been a number of recent community victories against fluoridation that I’d like to share with you. These wins for our movement, from just the past several months, account for over 70,000 people who will now have safer, cleaner drinking water. They include:
–Australian Central Highlands Regional Council
2023 also brought victories for fluoride-free campaigners and residents in:
-Red Cloud, Nebraska
-Perry, Florida
-Berthoud, Colorado
-Alpena, Michigan
-Williamsburg, Iowa
-Paulina, Iowa
-Oneida, New York
-Boonsboro, Maryland
It’s important to note that this is just what we’re aware of, and there are likely many more (see CDC stats section below for a nice surprise). Over the years we’ve found that some communities, water operators, and decision makers take action to reject or end fluoridation without much fanfare or media coverage, and while they may use FAN as an educational resource, they don’t reach out to us for assistance. This can leave us unaware of their local win until we get updated statistics and data from the CDC and state drinking water regulators.
As we celebrate these victories, Our work is far from over, and there are still many communities that continue to face challenges related to water fluoridation that FAN is assisting with. Some of the current community battles against fluoridation include:
– Spokane, Washington
– Albany, New York
– Dallas, Texas
– Lynden, Washington
– Pointe Claire, Quebec
– Orono, Maine
– Rotorua, New Zealand
…and more than 30 other communities throughout North America, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
As we speak, FAN is also assisting many campaigners, water operators, and decision makers across North America to develop and initiate campaigns that will pay dividends in 2024.
Millions Freed From Fluoridation
If the dental and chemical lobbies had their way, you would never know about the millions of people who live in communities that have successfully fought to prohibit the addition of fluoridation chemicals to their drinking water. Fluoridationists would like us all to believe that the practice is continuing to expand, and that the trend is firmly in favor of more towns initiating the practice. However, this is just more propaganda, as the CDC’s own stats and our records of community victories have affirmed.
Since 2010, FAN has documented well over 300 communities representing more than 8 million people that have chosen–either by referendum or by council vote–to prohibit or reject fluoridation. More than 500 communities throughout the world have ended existing fluoridation programs or rejected new efforts to fluoridate since 1990, adding millions more freed from fluoridation. Most of these victories were the result of citizens organizing local campaigns and voicing their opposition to public officials, with many working in coordination with FAN or using our materials to educate their neighbors and local decision-makers about the serious health risks associated with the practice. But even these numbers are far lower than the number of communities that have actually ended fluoridation (see CDC stats section below).
These numbers don’t even reflect the residents who have been spared from countless attempts to pass statewide fluoridation mandates in recent years, which FAN has helped defeat. In 2023 alone, two separate mandate bills in Hawaii and New Jersey were met with opposition and failed to even pass out of the first committees where they were considered. If passed, over 5 million additional people would have had fluoridation chemicals forced upon them, regardless of local opposition and at the expense of taxpayers with no say in the matter.
CDC Statistics Show That We’re Winning
Maybe even more distressing for the dental-lobby, is the fact that the most recent fluoridation statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control show that the percentage of the U.S. population served by community water systems receiving fluoridated water is decreasing steadily, from 74.6% in 2012 down to 72.7 in 2020 (see stats). The percentage of the U.S. population receiving so-called “optimally fluoridated” water from BOTH natural and artificial sources combined also decreased, from 67.1% to 62.9%, as did the number of water systems with added fluoridation chemicals, going from a high of 12,837 water systems in 2010 to 11,424 water systems in 2020. This means that 1,413 communities from 2010 to 2020 stopped fluoridation. While this number is far greater than the 300+ we indicated above, it’s important to note that many of those 300 water systems ALSO provided water to surrounding communities, and this higher number takes these “connected” communities into consideration.
This means that with your help, our movement has not only stopped the behemoth fluoridation-lobby’s goal of expansion in its tracks, but we have actually reversed the growth of fluoridation that has been occurring since the 1940; WE’RE WINNING! We couldn’t have done this without a collective effort that included all of you! Together let us commitment to creating healthier, informed communities, and continue to build on these successes in 2024
Thank you,
Stuart Cooper, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network
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