Water Fluoridation Part 2: Dirty Politics and the Implications for Population Health

Continued from Water Fluoridation Part 1: Understanding the Fluoride Controversy.

Why is Water Fluoridation Recommended?

Whilst fluoridated water is attributed to improving dental health across populations, the evidence shows this to be false. Governments are lobbied by powerful interests to promote fluoride as a necessary compound to protect against dental caries. Fluoride research is often undertaken by hand-picked, pro-fluoridation experts.

Some of the industries with vested interests in water fluoridation who often work to influence governments include:

• The phosphate fertiliser industry who can make money from their toxic effluent which would otherwise involve costly disposal;
• Toothpaste manufacturers and tea companies who need to avoid legal claims should harms be identified from their products;
• Manufacturers of the equipment, infrastructure and chemicals involved in water fluoridation, who stand to profit from the intervention.

It is well recognised that the Environmental Protection Agency and their various international counterparts are captured by the industries they purport to regulate, ensuring corporate profits prevail over public health protection. New Zealand’s own Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor (PMCSA) appears to be similarly captured.

Fluoridating New Zealand’s Drinking Water

Upon leaving office in July 2022, Sir Ashley Bloomfield issued a parting directive under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021, which shifted the decision about water fluoridation from local councils to the Director-General of Health. Acknowledged as having questionable motives and demonstrating a lack of basic knowledge, Bloomfield is quoted as stating “Fluoridated water is safe for everyone to drink – including babies and the elderly – and fluoride exists naturally in air, soil, fresh water, seawater, plants and in food.”

Dr Diana Sarfati has since taken over as Director-General of Health and today town councils face the controversial issue with trepidation as councillors and citizens debate the issue in anticipation of carrying out the order to fluoridate town drinking supplies. It seems some disagree with the order and are willing to challenge it; some agree with the order and wish to move forward with it; whilst yet others disagree but feel that they have no choice but to follow through.

Covid times have illustrated the dangers of giving absolute authority to a centralised “single source of truth” instead of exploring the issue thoroughly and doing what is right.

“If fluoridation goes ahead, councils will be using New Zealand-made industrial fluoride in the form of fluosilicic acid, also known as hydrofluosilicic acid. Hydrofluosilicic acid is produced during the manufacture of superphosphate fertiliser. It is the form of fluoride most widely used by New Zealand councils, added into drinking water as a liquid.”
Radio New Zealand, 29 January 2023

The Politics of Fluoridated Water in New Zealand

Dental health has improved markedly in New Zealand since the 1950s, which many including the Ministry of Health attribute to fluoridation of drinking water. Yet the same outcomes are seen across all New Zealand communities since prior to the introduction of fluoridated water, and despite only 50% of New Zealanders living in areas where drinking water is fluoridated. Reducing levels of dental decay in New Zealand correspond to reductions seen across the western world, most of which does not have fluoridated water.

When Fluoride Free NZ released this advertisement in 2016, a complaint claiming it to be “scientifically wrong or misleading” was investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority. The final ruling was “no grounds to proceed”. Fluoride Free NZ note that complaints about “all and any” advertising are a strategy of the water fluoridation lobby.

Population Health Implications of Water Fluoridation

The potential individual health harms caused by water fluoridation with toxic industrial effluent are detailed in our article Water Fluoridation Part 1: Understanding the Fluoride Controversy. Below, we discuss the population health implications of some of these harms.

Neurodevelopmental disabilities such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, and other cognitive impairments, are increasing in frequency. Causal links have been made with industrial chemicals known to cause neurodevelopmental toxicity, including fluoride.

Water fluoridation is associated with central nervous system damage leading to substantial reductions in the intelligence quotient (IQ) of children. Consistent findings show that exposure occurring via the placenta before birth and in early childhood has the most critical consequences as this is when the human brain is developing most rapidly, and is most vulnerable to toxic exposures. Children in areas with fluoridated water have significantly lower IQ than those in areas without fluoridated water.

As a developmental neurotoxin, fluoride affects the global architecture of developing brains. This impacts many facets of brain function including mood, autonomic control (unconscious processes such as heart rate, breathing, hormonal balances and other bodily functions), behaviour, and most significantly, IQ. It also has no impact on tooth decay.

“It’s senseless to keep subjecting our children to this ongoing fluoridation experiment to satisfy the political agenda of special-interest groups. Even if fluoridation reduced cavities, is tooth health more important than brain health? It’s time to put politics aside and stop artificial fluoridation everywhere.”
Attorney & President of New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Paul Beeber

Interactions with other elements affect the impact of fluoride toxicity. For example, low maternal iodine in pregnancy worsens IQ loss in childhood; fluoridated water leaches lead from pipes, and fluoride leads to aluminium crossing the blood-brain barrier, all adding another dangerous neurotoxin to the toxic soup our children swim in.

A 2009 NZ Ministry of Health study found that almost 50% of our children have some form of dental fluorosis. This is considered a useful biomarker for prenatal and early childhood fluoride exposure and clear associations have been made between fluorosis and lowered IQ.

These outcomes have substantial consequences on health and society. The redacted National Toxicology Program 2023 draft systematic review states that:

“subtle shifts in IQ at the population level can have a profound impact on the number of people who fall within the high and low ranges of the population’s IQ distribution. For example, a 5-point decrease in a population’s IQ would nearly double the number of people classified as intellectually disabled.“

Whilst we focus here on the impact of developmental neurotoxicity of fluoridated water, it is important to remember the other health implications. Increased cancer rates and skeletal fluorosis impact health service capacity, socio-economic viability when young people are removed from the workforce, and influence the growing control that the pharmaceutical industry has over service delivery.

Informed Consent

Fluoridation of public drinking supplies based on orders from a centralised authority removes our right to give informed consent prior to being exposed to toxic industrial waste. This establishes a dangerous precedent which probably encouraged the audacity shown by political and public health leadership during covid, to remove the process of informed consent for public health measures including administration of toxic, military-grade medical products.

When reading studies related to water fluoridation it is important to review all conflicts of interest. There have been many examples of fluoridation experts who are paid to promote fluoride, publishing corrupted research.

What Can We Do?

As with the dangerous Covid-19 injections, the community at large have been deceived into believing that water fluoridation is a safe intervention. Fluoride Free New Zealand describe the levels of cognitive dissonance, including across professional groups who we might assume have investigated the subject thoroughly, in this article.

It is important that we continue to speak about what we know and offer resources to people. Subscribe, donate and join a local group at Fluoride Free New Zealand to remain up to date and become active in the movement to end water fluoridation. Approach your local council. Write to your Member of Parliament.

Do not accept the single source of truth as an infallible authority. Remain questioning and skeptical. The futures of our children depend upon it.