Qld Doctor says No to Fluoridation

Former Federal Health Minister Dr Doug Everingham says no to water fluoridation.

As a family doctor and often Acting Government Medical Officer in Rockhampton over in the 1950s, I wrote a letter praising fluoridation published in the local The Morning Bulletin. This prompted the late Jack Harding and others to show me books that warned of fluoridation risks. I read those books and have continued to look at reports for and against fluoridation in medical journals and elsewhere.

Reports still not disproved suggest involvement of fluoride medication in contributing after some years of consumption to reduced immunities or increased intensity or numbers of cases of disorders in human and animal development or function of bones, joints, brain, thyroid and other tissues.

Many of the water supplies now fluoridated were earlier showing dental signs of fluoride overdose in a significant proportion of their consumers, and fluoridation increases the prevalence and intensity of such dental fluorosis.

Reports criticise poor experimental and statistical methods in most surveys that favour water fluoridation. Official policy promoters overwhelmingly concede that public water supplies with 4 ppm fluoride are a hazard. Lower limits have been suggested for infants, sufferers from certain metabolic problems and persons exposed to hot conditions. No minimum concentration of fluoride in communal water supplies or in individual fluoride intake has been shown as necessary to produce fluorosis-free, cares-free teeth. Despite repeated calls for such assessment by official reports.

Many studies suggest that the only proven caries-preventing function of fluoride lies in carefully applying toothpaste and dental therapy to tooth enamel, not in swallowing fluoride. Many authors want all artificial fluoridation stopped and natural water supplies limited to some unspecified fluoride level below 1 ppm.

Such authors include professionals formerly in charge of government promotion or direction of fluoridation. Among these are the former Dean of Melbourne's dental school, Sir Arthur Amies, Dr John Colquhoun of New Zealand; and others in the few countries that still promote fluoridation, as well as many that have abandoned or avoided it.

Associate Professor Hardy Limeback, PhD, BSc, Doctor of Dental Surgery, Head of Preventive Dentistry, University of Toronto and Past President, Canadian Association for Dental Research, is typical of ever more researchers who have turned against fluoridation. In 1999 he apologized for inadvertently misleading colleagues and students, saying "For the past 15 years I had refused to study the toxicology information that is readily available to anyone. Poisoning our children was the furthest thing from my mind."

It thus took that eminent expert 15 years to face plain and crucial scientific facts that were avoided and disparaged by traditional authorities and some industrial sponsors. I took me 10 years after graduating. It is time for remaining fluoridation promoters to get past collecting titles of supporting political authorities and stop ridiculing opponents as if they were all dupes, cranks, quacks or dimwits. They may then make a similar apology.

From Dr Doug Everingham Federal Health Minister (Whitlam Government 1972 -1975)



With the kind permission of Dr Everingham this recent letter is being
forwarded to all Queensland MPs and others by Queenslanders Against Water Fluoridation Inc  
24th February 2008.

- Doug N Everingham MB, BS (Univ Syd 1946) Member, Australian House of
Representatives 1967-75 and 1977-84

Australian Minister for Health 1972-75 Vice-President [West Pacific Region's
nominee] at World Health Assembly, Geneva 1975.

Post script from QAWF

The Federal Labor Party has initiatives in Oral Health that they can be very
proud of ( starting the Scool Dental Service - Gough Whitlam sent 100 dental
therapists to New Zealand for training to get it started quickly)  and Labor
introduced the Commonwealth Oral Dental Health Scheme

The Queensland Government's actions in forcing fluoridation and forcing it
based on fraudulent data will never be an action that can be looked back on
with pride.