Credit to Fluoride Action Network – December 27, 2017
This Letter Could End Fluoridation in Ireland
For over 50 years many wonderful people have tried to end mandatory fluoridation in Ireland from Gladys Ryan in the 1960s, to Dr. Don MacAuley of Irish Dentists Opposing Fluoridation, the late Robert Pocock of Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment (VOICE) and more recently the “Girl Against Fluoride.” But no one has actually driven a stake through the heart of this monster but that may change now because of the extraordinary efforts of environmental scientist Declan Waugh.
Over the last six years this remarkable man has been moving Irish mountains: he has written long reports; published scientific commentary and research studies in peer reviewed journals; written dozens of letters to the newspapers and politicians and scientists and to government bureaucrats. The latter – still stubbornly beholden to this outdated practice – have given him their usual cold shoulder, but they have not reckoned on Declan’s tenacity.
Declan has taken on their refusal to exercise even a modicum of responsibility to protect the population from this toxic substance and turned it against them. In his letter – which he describes below – he not only describes the growing number of scientific studies, which show that fluoride is a threat to human health but also adds in the simple fact that Irish authorities have ignored for over 50 years – in addition to fluoridation the Irish population is exposed to large amounts of fluoride from tea. Ireland by a large margin is one of the biggest tea-drinking countries in the world. Declan has also shown that this gross over-exposure to fluoride suspiciously correlates to a litany of health effects.
Declan has asked fellow scientists and citizens to sign on in support of his letter. Over a thousand have done so including many famous and prominent people. So many in fact that we have the right to believe that the days of this reckless practice in Ireland are numbered.
Please send this bulletin to anyone you know in Ireland and any Irish-American contacts you have. Urge them to support Declan and do everything they can to end mandatory fluoridation in this lovely country.
Declan describes his Letter
In the last fortnight, in response to a tender being advertised by Irish Water for services in support of continuing mandatory fluoridation I wrote a letter for the Irish Authorities addressing significant issues surrounding lack of due diligence and duty of care by the Irish State regarding this highly controversial and discredited policy.
I am delighted to say that the letter was co-signed by many respected academics, scientists, medical doctors, midwives, neurologists, psychologists, biochemists, molecular and cell biologists, toxicologists, nutritionists, experts in paediatric medicine; as well as the cream of Irish songwriters, and musicians, in addition to composers, film directors and producers, educationalists, poets, actors, authors, historians, as well as some of Ireland’s leading food entrepreneurs and by citizens all across the length and breadth of Ireland, in addition to non-national residents, who have come to work or live in our country.
In our submission we are asking why pertinent studies have never been conducted in the past in Ireland and are seeking that biomonitoring studies of the population for fluoride exposure be undertaken as a matter of urgency and the information made publicly available.
We are also seeking answers to specific questions from the authorities in the interests of transparency and accountability that the State or its agencies has refused to address in the past.
We are further highlighting in our letter new evidence which demonstrates gross negligence and malpractice by the authorities on how this policy is governed in Ireland, as well as highlighting current research demonstrating a causal association between dietary fluoride intake and lower cognitive function.
Historical background.
It was principally through US influence and financial support that fluoridation commenced in Ireland in the 1960s, but the “experts” they sent here to persuade the Irish authorities neglected to mention that tea was a source of fluoride exposure despite the official journal of the U.S Surgeon General and the U.S Public Health Services reporting on this as far back as 1949. As far back as the 1950s when fluoridation was expanding in the USA dental experts in the UK observed that fluoridation was unnecessary due to the habitual consumption of tea among the British population. When Ireland commenced mandatory fluoridation of drinking water, per capita consumption was almost 5kg per person per year compared to 0.3 kg per person in the USA.
Unlike Ireland, when the US tried to influence fluoridation in mainland Europe it was soundly rejected by among others the Nobel Institute and the Pasteur Institute.
In Germany, it is forbidden by Federal Law to use water as a means of medication. In fact, the German authorities have clearly stated that the optimal fluoride concentration of fluoridated water is very close to the dose which long term detrimental effects in people cannot be excluded. In their opinion, it is not justifiable to fluoridate the water supply in view of different habits and therefore different consumption of drinking water and the uncontrolled intake of fluoride from other sources. Moreover, they state that the consumer cannot avoid fluoridated drinking water made available by public water supplies and that this mandatory intake of fluoride violates the basic right to bodily freedom from injury and free development provided by the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. That opinion is as Germanic as you can get. Straight to the point and no nonsense. However, in saying this one must consider also that per capita consumption of tea in Germany (uncontrolled exposure to fluoride) is just a tenth of Ireland’s. To put our consumption of tea in context, per capita consumption of tea in Ireland is equal to that of the USA, Canada, USSR, Germany, France, Italy, China and India combined.
Since the late 1960s, over 100 studies have been published examining fluoride exposure from tea internationally but astonishingly none in Ireland. The Irish State are fully aware of this, but have steadfastly refused to monitor fluoride levels in tea because it would demonstrate that fluoridation is in fact contributing to chronic overexposure to fluoride among the population. It is for the same reason that there has been no bio-monitoring of the general population for fluoride exposure or no public health studies undertaken examining the relationship between chronic fluoride intake, morbidity and disease prevalence in Ireland. So rather than produce the evidence that fluoridation is safe, they repeat ad nausea that there is no evidence to suggest that fluoridation is contributing to disease in Ireland.
Meanwhile numerous peer reviewed published studies in reputable journals have shown an association between fluoride exposure from water fluoridation and increased risk a wide range of cancers, bone fractures, diabetes prevalence, endocrine disorders and developmental disorders such as ADHD.
There is robust evidence that fluoride also alters the genetic expression of genes in humans associated with cancer and evidence that chronic fluoride (exposure) may increase the risk of certain genetic disorders, which are highly prevalent in Ireland. In recent decades there have been multiple medical case reports of fluoride poisoning from tea consumption among habitual consumers in the USA, UK, France, the middle East and Asia but remarkably none ever recorded in Ireland, despite Ireland having the highest per capita consumption of tea in the world and mandatory water fluoridation. The reason for this is clear. Medical doctors in Ireland are not taught or informed about fluoride toxicity as part of their medical education.
The lack of training of physicians in Ireland on fluoride toxicity is simply astonishing, especially considering that fluoridation has been mandatory in this country for almost 60 years. Over the past number of year’s my experience has been that I have yet to meet a doctor in Ireland that was even aware tea was a source of fluoride. Considering the above, it is hardly surprising that medical physicians in Ireland are unaware of the symptoms of fluorosis (fluoride poisoning) or how it impacts on general health. Moreover, tea is never monitored for fluoride concentrations in Ireland and there is no labelling of tea products to inform consumers or medical physicians that tea contains highly significant concentrations of fluoride. In addition, as I mentioned previously as the Irish population have been the highest consumers of tea for over a century, it not immediately apparent to many physicians that patients may be suffering from effects chronic fluoride poisoning, as the general symptoms have been present for many generations, often misdiagnosed as arthritis, chronic pain disorders or metabolic/endocrine disorders.
Yet, remarkable as far back as the 1890s it was actually documented that the chronic and habitual consumption of tea among the poorest (and malnourished) in Ireland was associated with increased vulnerability to disease, anaemia, dyspepsia, gastric derangement, nervousness and psychological disturbance, mental depression and psychological decline Based on what we now know about the toxicity of fluoride, and the fluoride content in teas, evidence would suggest that the authors of these early studies were correct in reporting an association between chronic tea consumption (chronic fluoride exposure) and increased prevalence of disease.
At the end of the day, what we are witnessing In Ireland is that the democratic will of the people is being callously ignored by the institutions of the state. In recent years elected officials of the major city councils and local authorities voted to end fluoridation including Dublin City Council, Dublin South County Council, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Donegal County Council, Kerry County Council, Waterford County Council, Waterford City Council, Athlone City Council, Skibbereen Town council, Carrickmacross Town Council, Clonakilty Town Council, Kinsale Town Council, Wicklow Town Council, Laois County Council, Monaghan County Council, Cavan County Council, Galway County Council, Leitrim County Council and Wexford County Council.
Yet the Governments response is to ignore the democratic will of the people. It’s put up and shut up because fluoridation is mandatory in accordance with National legislation. However, what we are talking about here is not individual abuse, but the abuse of an entire population, beginning before a child is even born by exposing them to a developmental neurotoxin prenatally. It is medical negligence on a unprecedented scale.
For fluoridation to end we need more scientists, dentists, medical researchers and physicians to be knowledgeable about the toxicity of fluoride and to engage with their communities in Ireland, the UK, USA, Canada, Israel, Australia and New Zealand who are desperately trying to end this policy. I hope that our current submission will bring us one step closer to achieving this goal.
Declan Waugh
Scientist and Risk Management Consult
Bandon, Ireland
