Mandatory fluoridation of all New Zealand water supplies is being signaled by the government proposal to shift responsibility of fluoridisation from local councils to district health boards, says Fluoride Free New Zealand Tauranga Convenor Tracy Livingston.

“It will mean mandatory fluoridation for the whole of New Zealand as the DHBs are contractually obligated to carry out Ministry of Health policy.

“Adding an unneeded chemical to the drinking water for everyone to consume an uncontrolled dose without any oversight is a huge undertaking and should never be taken lightly,” says Tracy.

“It’s important for all members of the community to be fully versed in this hugely important issue. It’s the responsibility of those who have been voted to represent the community, and have pledged to put the welfare of their community first, to fully understand this issue and stand up for the community if necessary.”

Fluoridation was stopped in Tauranga in 1992 on the result of a binding referendum in which more than half of the city’s residents voted to bring it to an end.

International fluoridation expert Professor Paul Connett will be speaking at the Tauranga Citizens Club Sunday, July 3, 2pm – 4pm, explaining why fluoridation should not be reintroduced to Tauranga’s water.

“It’s illogical and insulting for the Government to now argue that fluoride is not a medical treatment but then introduce it to drinking water to combat tooth decay,” says Tracy.

“If it is a medical treatment the Bill of Rights clearly prohibits its introduction to communal drinking water. If it is not a medical treatment to combat tooth decay, there is no logical reason to introduce it to communal drinking water.”

Three countries have mandatory fluoridation; Ireland, Singapore and Israel, says Tracy. And Isreal’s policy is undergoing a Supreme Court challenge.

“Less than five per cent of the world is still fluoridating water supplies, with more and more cities stopping every year for the past several decades.” Tracy says 98 per cent of Europe doesn’t have water fluoridation and “their teeth are just as good if not better than ours”.

China and Japan have banned fluoridation. China, India and Senegal remove fluoride from water supplies with more than 1pm.

Claims that adding fluoride to the water prevents tooth decay are wrong, says Tracy.

Fluoride does not work by swallowing it.

Even fluoride promoters have changed their tune. They now claim that if there is any benefit from fluoride it is from contact with the surface of the tooth.

Fluoridation doesn’t reduce dental decay.

“The most recent New Zealand study, carried out by pro-fluoride dentists, shows there is no difference in decay rates between non-Maori children in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas,” says Tracy.

“One of the differences seen with Maori children is likely due to lack of access to dental care, as the study found Maori children less likely to have had a dental examination.

“The international Cochrane Review, published in 2015, also found no modern reliable evidence of fluoridation reducing dental decay. All data received by Fluoride Free New Zealand from NZ District Health Boards on the severity of tooth decay have shown us that the rates of severe tooth decay are the same, if not more prevalent, in children in fluoridated areas versus non-fluoridated areas.”

It causes dental fluorosis – mottling of the teeth. The Ministry of Health says 40 per cent of children in NZ have some form of dental fluorosis, which is the first outward sign of fluoride poisoning.

“New Zealand research that has looked specifically at dental health and lifetime fluoride exposure has found twice the rate of dental fluorosis in fluoridated than in non-fluoridated areas – 30 per cent compared to 15 per cent – Obviously fluoride exposure needs to be urgently reduced not extended,” says Tracy.

Fluoride is a neurotoxin. There are now 57 human studies that have looked at fluoride exposure and effects on brain function. 50 show fluoride causes lowered IQ, behavioral deficits, nervous disorders, and memory disruption, says Tracy. There are hundreds of animal studies showing fluoride’s adverse effects on the brain. In March 2014 fluoride was classified as a neurotoxin in world renowned medical journal, The Lancet.

Fluoride is also an endocrine disruptor. The US National Research Council’s, 12-member, three-year review of all fluoride science found that extremely low levels of fluoride affect the human thyroid – between 0.05mg/kg/day – 0.13 mg/kg/day when iodine is adequate and 0.01mg/kg/day – 0.03 mg/kg/day when iodine is inadequate, says Tracy.

“Many New Zealanders will be exceeding this dose.

“Bottle-fed babies receive very dangerous amounts of fluoride. Human breast milk contains almost no fluoride, New Zealand fluoridated water is normally 0.85ppm which is 212 times more fluoride than breast milk. It is utterly reckless to give this dose to bottle-fed babies.”

The US Government’s prestigious National Toxicology Program is now reviewing all of the fluoride-brain studies and is conducting its own new animal studies.

Panel member, Dr Linda Birnbaum says nothing is known about individual vulnerability and susceptibility.

It’s already known that fluoride’s effect on the brain could occur as low as 2.7ppm, which Dr Birnbaum says leaves a very small margin of safety – particularly as individual doses are unmonitored. The National Toxicology Department Webinar in on You Tube.

Fluoridation is also violation of the right to informed consent to medical treatment, says Tracy. “Fluoridation chemicals are added to the drinking water for the sole purpose of providing a claimed therapeutic benefit to teeth,” says Tracy.

“The fact that the Government introduced Legislation to exempt all fluoride chemicals from the Medicines Act if they are added to the drinking water, doesn’t change the fact that fluoridation chemicals are being used to treat people for a medical condition.

“All it does is show that the Government can do whatever it likes by introducing laws whenever it feels like it, no matter how nonsensical that law is.”