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Everyone knows Fluoride is good for teeth. It's common sense. But how do we "know" if what we know is true? Sometimes common
sense is built upon unexamined prejudices and falsehoods. Take George Washington's doctors, for instance, who bled him to
death. That's what they did for sick people then: bleed them. Doctors were only following the common sense medical wisdom
of their time.
You hear it constantly from
the experts: fluoride is good for teeth. Tell that to the parents of 3-year old William Kinnerly, who died after a routine
fluoride treatment in a dentist's office. The dental hygienist was engrossed in conversation and forgot to instruct the boy
to spit out the fluoride rinse. William swallowed and died later in a hospital emergency room. ( New York Times, January 20,
1979- front page)
Fluoride comes from the element Fluorine, a yellowish,
poisonous, highly corrosive halogen gas. The most unstable and highly reactive of all existing elements, fluoride is useful
as a catalyst in chemical reactions, and has an enormous range of industrial applications-including nuclear weapons production.
Fluorine is rare in nature because it bonds readily with whatever is around it- which is how fluorides are formed. Thus, fluorine
combined with sodium yields sodium fluoride. Fluorine and Calcium yield Calcium fluoride and so on.
Fluoride, having an affinity for calcium,
is often found in hard water. This naturally occurring calcium fluoride, which is found in rivers and lakes, builds up over
millions of years from water running over rocks. However, the fluorine compounds added to municipal water are mostly sodium
fluoride compounds like sodium fluorosilicate, which are derived directly from smokestack scrubbers in the phosphate fertilizer
industry. All fluorides are poisons of varying toxicity. Even the naturally occurring calcium fluoride can cause adverse reactions
depending upon the dosage.
Because of its ability to bond with almost everything,
fluoride bonds with tooth enamel and hardens it. But its effects are not specific to teeth. Fluoride is the most bone-seeking
of all elements, and builds up in bones making them more brittle. Several articles published in the AMA Journal link osteoporosis
and hip fractures with fluoridated water.
Bulk
shipments of fluoride must by law carry the skull and crossbones symbol. Toothpaste also carries a warning label which mentions
calling the poison control center. Only fluoride toothpastes carry this warning. The Merck Index is the standard reference
book for the pharmaceutical industry. Under the heading for fluoride titled," Human Toxicity," the index reports the following:
"Severe symptoms result from the ingestion of 0.25 to 0.45 grams, and death results from the ingestion of 4 grams." You can't
even dispose of fluorides in a municipal landfill. Instead the stuff has to be hauled to the highest level EPA toxic waste
dump. The Merck Index lists, among other industrial applications of fluoride, "an insecticide, particularly for roaches and
ants."
Fluorine is a member of the
halogen family, a group of five elements, (Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, Astatine, and Fluorine) that have a varying effect upon
the nervous system. Consequently, they are used in psychiatric medications. For example,Halothane, a popular anesthetic, contains
Fluorine, Chlorine, and Bromine. One of the main ingredients in Prozac (Fluoxetyne Hydrochloride) is fluoride. The date rape
drug, "roofies" is fluoridated valium, which is much more powerful than Valium alone.
Fluorides turn up in many other non-pharmaceutical
products as well. Vikane gas, for instance, is a fumigation agent for killing termites. Cryolite, an industrial solvent, is
aluminum fluoride. Fluoride is also the main ingredient in Sarin gas, the chemical warfare agent used in the terrorist attack
in the Tokyo subway system a few years ago.
In 1995, animal studies conducted at the Forsyth Dental
Clinic in Boston, suggested that fluoride accumulates in the brain and contributes to lowered intelligence and developmental
learning problems in children. According to the study,"a generic behavioral pattern of disruption as found in this study can
be indicative of a potential for motor dysfunction, IQ deficits, and/or learning disabilities." Dr. Hugo Theorell, Nobel Prize
winner for his research in enzyme systems, stated, "The fluoride ion exerts its toxic effect by inhibiting the action of many
enzyme systems." In 1989, experiments conducted at the Argonne National Laboratories confirmed the ability of fluoride to
transform normal cells into cancer cells.
Why do we put this stuff in our water? It's been
proven that fluoridation programs don't work. Decay rates worldwide are similar in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
Not surprisingly, fluoridation is a cash cow for big business, which produces immense quantities of the stuff. Imagine the
expense of hauling, depositing, and treating this lethal industrial by-product. Then weigh that against the benefits of sustaining
this fraud. Doing the right thing now could be embarrassing, painful and very expensive.
The authorities insist that you have fluoride: they are concerned about your teeth. But in the words of the late Carl Sagan,
"Arguments from authority do not count; too many authorities have been mistaken too often." Why not let the people decide?
Then we can all have something to smile about.
Still don't believe it? Here are 50 more reasons to oppose fluoridation.
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