Gympie

Residents of Gympie, Tin Can Bay and Cooloola Cove – it’s up to you to tell your Councillors to STOP adding TOXIC fluoridation chemicals to your drinking water!

Despite a controversial history and significant opposition to fluoridation, Gympie, Tin Can Bay and Cooloola Cove still have toxic fluoridation chemicals added to their public drinking water supplies.

In 2010, along with several other Queensland councils, Gympie was forced by the State Government to add sodium fluoride to its drinking water. This powdered chemical is Schedule 6 Poison; a hazardous, toxic, contaminated, waste bi-product resulting from the processing of phosphate fertilizer and is imported mostly from China where fluoride is banned. It also happens to be an active ingredient in rat poison and other rodenticides. Read more about this toxic chemical here.

In forcing fluoridation on Councils, the State Government ignored dental statistics showing unfluoridated Queensland children, by the time they were 12 years old, actually had less tooth decay than heavily fluoridated states and territories of Tasmania, Victoria or the ACT. These results echoed many large-scale, population-based studies conducted world-wide, clearly showing there is no difference in tooth decay rates between fluoridated and unfluoridated countries, cities and regions. A raft of scientific evidence showing adverse health issues from the ingestion of fluoridation chemicals was also ignored. Read more about the controversial history of fluoride in Queensland here.

In 2012, the decision to fluoridate was handed down to each individual Council and in 2013, Gympie Council voted to continue adding toxic chemicals to its drinking water.

Since then the evidence of fluoride’s damage to our physiology has only mounted. Thousands of studies show fluoride damages the brain, kidneys, endocrine system (especially the thyroid and pineal glands), the bones, the male reproductive system and even the teeth in the form of dental fluorosis. About 99 per cent of the fluoride in water doesn’t even touch the teeth – instead it’s ingested through the body’s organs, tissues and bones, accumulating at a rate of around 50 per cent in a healthy adult and up to 80 per cent in an infant. More here.

A total of 54 human studies show fluoride damages the developing brain of the fetus, infant and child. Since 2017, five major US Government-funded studies have confirmed this neurological damage. A recent Canadian study showed that children and teenagers in a fluoridated region were nearly three times more likely to develop ADHD or ADHD symptoms compared to those in a non-fluoridated region. More here.

A US Federal Court case is currently underway with a not-for-profit consortium suing the Environmental Protection Agency to stop fluoridation based on its neurotoxicity. The judge has so far acknowledged that the above five studies are the best available science. More here.

Water fluoridation is a major violation of ethics – not one fluoridating Queensland council informs their residents of the risks (especially to pregnant mothers) or obtains consent. Our health authorities also use unethical tactics to promote and defend fluoridation, including the reliance on very poor-quality studies and the use of relative rather than absolute percentage differences in tooth decay rates that are not just misleading but deceptive. Also, the cost of fluoridation is substantial, especially given several fluoride alternatives are successfully employed overseas.

Only 21 of 77 Queensland councils are forcing fluoridation on their constituents; less than five per cent of the world’s population receives fluoridated water; and 98% of Europe have ceased, rejected or banned fluoride based on toxicity, ineffectiveness and the lack of ethics involved. It’s time Gympie and other Queensland councils did the same.

What you can do to end fluoridation

There are several things you can do to help your Councillors understand that fluoride does NOT belong in your drinking water and to stop this absurd process:

Send a letter to Gympie Regional Council. Gympie Councillors are responsible for the decision to add fluoridation chemicals to your drinking water and therefore they have the power to stop this process. You can write your own letter/email or you can use our template below;
Print out our publicity material (below). The A4 flyer can be displayed on any notice board in your community and the small A6 leaflets can be handed out to anyone. See the links below;
Let us send you publicity material. Contact us and we will send you a batch of cars stickers and other colour publicity material at cost. Just send an email to info@fluoridefreeaustralia.org;
Social media and FFA newsletter. Join our Facebook group and sign up for our newsletter to keep abreast of the news;
Tell your friends. Education and awareness are the keys to ending this rediculous process. Tell your family, friends and colleagues about fluoride and this campaign, organise a public talk, speak to the media, hand out leaflets.
Join a group. Contact us for more details.
Donate to the Gympie campaign. Donate here and please send us an email so we know where the funds should be used.
Any questions or suggestions? Please contact us: info@fluoridefreeaustralia.org.

Send a letter to Gympie Regional Council

If you are a resident of Gympie Shire, you can send an email/letter to the Councillors and tell them why they should stop water fluoridation now. You can write your own letter or you can use one of our templates below:

Some tips for sending your letter or email:

It’s best to write your letter or email using your own language, but you can use any material from our website or copy/paste the content from one of our letter templates below;
Commence the email with “Dear Mayor Hartwig and all Councillors”
In the subject line, you might include: “For all Councillors: Your water fluoridation program”
Be professional and never use rude, aggressive or threatening language. Your aim is to assist the Councillors to be better informed about fluoridation chemicals including the toxicity, lack of effectiveness and lack of ethics involved;
Don’t forget to sign or write your name and address at the end of the email or letter;
Send your email to: council@gympie.qld.gov.au. If you want to CC the Mayor, please refer to the Gympie Regional Council website for his email address.

Some interesting facts

There are 77 councils in Queensland. Gympie Regional Council is one of only 21 councils and 10 regional councils adding fluoridation chemicals to their public drinking water supplies;
According to Queensland Law, Gympie Councillors are responsible for the decision to fluoridate their shire, therefore they can decide to stop now;
Only about 50% of Gympie Shire’s population receive fluoridated water;
Most of the nine Gympie Councillors do not live in a fluoridated region, and yet they impose fluoride on others;
A majority of Gympie Councillors are probably against fluoridation, yet they continue to fluoridate.

Letter templates

Copy/paste the content into your own email

LETTER TEMPLATE 1: General summary letter

Dear Mayor Hartwig and all Councillors

Re: Fluoridation chemicals don’t belong in our drinking water

Are you aware that the powdered chemical you add to our drinking water, as part of your fluoridation program, is a Schedule 6 Poison; a hazardous, toxic, contaminated, waste bi-product from the processing of phosphate fertilizer? This sodium fluoride is imported mostly from China where fluoride is banned. It also happens to be an active ingredient in rat poison and other rodenticides.

Unfortunately, when the Queensland State Government forced fluoridation on Councils, they ignored dental statistics showing unfluoridated Queensland children, by the time they were 12 years old, actually had less tooth decay than heavily fluoridated states and territories of Tasmania, Victoria or the ACT. Many large-scale, population-based studies conducted world-wide echoed these statistics, clearly showing there is no difference in tooth decay rates between fluoridated and unfluoridated countries, cities and regions. The Government also ignored a raft of scientific evidence showing adverse health issues from the ingestion of fluoridation chemicals.

In 2013, when Gympie Councillors voted to continue adding toxic chemicals to its drinking water, there was even more evidence of harm from the long-term, low-level ingestion of fluoride.

Water fluoridation is a major violation of ethics. I notice that you, like other fluoridating Queensland councils, do not inform residents of the risks (especially to pregnant mothers) or obtain their consent. Our health authorities also use unethical tactics to promote and defend fluoridation, including the reliance on very poor-quality studies and the use of relative rather than absolute percentage differences in tooth decay rates that are not just misleading but deceptive. Also, the cost of fluoridation to Gympie is substantial, especially given several fluoride alternatives are successfully employed overseas. I know these funds could be better used elsewhere.

Are you also aware that only 21 of 77 Queensland councils are forcing fluoridation on their constituents; less than five per cent of the world’s population receives fluoridated water; and 98% of Europe have ceased, rejected or banned fluoride based on toxicity, ineffectiveness and the lack of ethics involved. It’s time Gympie and other Queensland councils did the same.

I urge you to give this matters serious consideration and stop this absurd process now.

Sincerely,

LETTER TEMPLATE 2: The damaging effects of fluoridation chemicals

Dear Mayor Hartwig and all Councillors

Re: Fluoridation chemicals are damaging our health

There is a substantial body of scientific evidence showing fluoridation chemicals in our water and food damage our health. New studies are published almost every week showing the health risks of regular consumption of fluoride in our water, processed foods and beverages, such as soft drinks, tea, alcohol, beer, and wine. These studies are consistently ignored by our health authorities.

Since the cut-off date of October 2014, for studies included in the NHMRC 2017 fluoridation review, more than 400 new human and animal studies have emphasised the toxicity of fluoride.

The effects of fluoride on our physiology are pervasive: once it enters the blood stream it can reach every cell and organ in the body. Around 50 per cent of fluoride accumulates in the body of a healthy person and around 80 per cent accumulates in the developing bones of an infant or young child.

The most disadvantaged sub-groups are pregnant mothers, diabetics, people with impaired kidney function and thyroid diseases, the elderly, those with poor nutritional status, those hypersensitive to fluoride, and many people with high water consumption such as sportspeople and outdoor labourers. Yet, these subgroups continue to be ignored. This is also not acceptable.

Twenty years of research shows that fluoride is:
• A developmental neurotoxin – a chemical that can negatively affect nerve cells during brain development in utero, in babies, and in children. There are 54 studies showing an association between fluoride exposure and reduced IQ in children.
• An endocrine disruptor, with the ability to suppress thyroid hormone production. In 2006 the US National Research Council NRC fluoride review reported that ingesting between .05 and 0.13 mg/kg/day of fluoride (or as low as 0.01 to .03 mg/kg/day in a person with inadequate iodine intake), decreases the production of thyroid hormone. Several large studies since the last NHMRC review show the link between fluoride and hypothyroidism.
• A nephrotoxin, with the ability to increase the risk of diabetes. In 2006 the NRC review stated; “In general, impaired glucose metabolism appears to be associated with serum or plasma fluoride concentrations of about 0.1 mg/L or greater in both animals and humans.”

Fluoride also accumulates in and damages the pineal gland, which produces melatonin to modulate sleep patterns, regulate the onset of puberty in females, and protect the body from cell damage caused by free radicals. “Fluoride is likely to cause decreased melatonin production and to have other effects on normal pineal function, which in turn could contribute to a variety of effects in humans,” said the NRC review.

Several studies have also shown that fluoridation chemicals:
• damage our bones, causing skeletal fluorosis and osteoarthritis;
• can cause osteosarcoma, a rare form of cancer;
• can damage the male reproductive system;
• result in hypersensitivity reactions in one to five per cent of people.

In addition to these and other health risks, many councillors and politicians are not aware of the substantial body of science showing fluoride is not even effective in reducing tooth decay. All large-scale, population-based fluoride efficacy studies show there is no difference in dental decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries, cities and regions. How can these studies be ignored in favour of extremely poor-quality studies used to defend fluoridation?

According to Queensland State Law, you are responsible for adding fluoridation chemicals to our drinking water. Therefore I ask that you give this matter serious consideration and stop this absurd process as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

LETTER TEMPLATE 3: Fluoride is NOT effective in reducing tooth decay

Dear Mayor Hartwig and all Councillors,

Re: Water fluoridation is NOT effective in reducing tooth decay

Your water fluoridation program is based on a claim that fluoride has contributed to a decline in dental decay. However this claim is completely erroneous.

The original fluoride-efficacy studies from the 1940s and 1950s on which fluoridation is based are extremely poor quality. Since then, all large-scale, population-based fluoride studies have shown there is no difference in tooth decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries, cities and regions.

In 2015, The Cochrane Review – the most comprehensive meta-review of fluoride’s effectiveness ever conducted – found no high-quality research showing fluoridation provided any benefit to adults; provided additional benefits over and above topically applied fluoride; reduced inequalities among children from different socio-economic groups; or that tooth decay increased in communities when fluoridation is stopped. They didn’t regard the studies claiming to show that water fluoridation reduces decay in children as applicable to today’s society, as nearly all the studies reviewed (dating back to the 1940s – 1960s) had a high risk of bias and were conducted prior to the availability of fluoride toothpaste and other sources of fluoride.

Not one single published Australia fluoride efficacy study met the relaxed inclusion criteria for the 2015 Cochrane Review. And ALL 19 studies included in the review were deemed poor quality.

Also, the NHMRC and our health authorities use relative rather than absolute percentage differences in tooth decay which is deceptive. The correct use of absolute percentage differences clearly shows there is no positive effect of fluoridation.

Since the early 1950s trials there have been numerous endorsements made worldwide by various health bodies, however these endorsements and recommendations are not scientific studies. The ADA and AMA refuse to look at any disparaging evidence simply because they have been endorsing fluoride for so long.

For the past 50 years, a large percentage of Australia’s population has received fluoridation chemicals in their drinking water, which makes us one of the most heavily fluoridated countries in the word. And yet, according to AIHW (2018), 42 per cent of Australian children experience decay in their primary teeth; and 90 per cent of adults have some form of tooth decay. Australia has what is often referred to as a “dental decay crisis.” Clearly, fluoridation is NOT working!

Many studies how fluoridation chemicals damage our health. To date, 54 studies show that fluoride damages the developing brain of the fetus, infant and child. Since 2017, five major US Government-funded studies have confirmed fluoride’s developmental neurotoxicity.

As you are responsible for adding fluoridation chemicals to our drinking water, I ask that you give this matter serious consideration and stop this as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

LETTER TEMPLATE 4: Fluoride and major neurotoxicity studies

Dear Mayor Hartwig and all Councillors,

Re: Neurological damage from fluoridation chemicals

Are you aware that twenty years of research has shown the damage fluoridation chemicals cause to the developing brain of the fetus and infant? Are you aware that 54 individual studies have shown the link between ingestion of fluoridated water and reduced IQ in offspring? These Mother-Offspring studies continue to confirm the fetus is the most vulnerable to fluoride’s neurotoxicity.

In particular, eight major studies, including five US-Government-funded studies conducted since 2017, show fluoride damages the developing brain of the fetus, infant and child:

In 2006 the US National Research Council published “Fluoride in Drinking Water”, the most authoritative review of fluoride’s toxicity. It stated unequivocally that “fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain and the body.”
In 2012 a Harvard-funded meta-analysis found that children ingesting higher levels of fluoride tested an average 7 IQ points lower in 26 out of 27 studies. Many of these studies involved total exposures to fluoride no more than what millions of Australians receive. Philippe Grandjean, MD, PhD and the study’s co-author stated; “Fluoride seems to fit in with lead, mercury, and other poisons that cause chemical brain drain.”
In 2017 the Bashash study, spanning 13 years, found that every one milligram per litre increase in fluoride in pregnant women’s urine – approximately the difference caused by ingestion of fluoridated water – was associated with a reduction of their children’s IQ by an average 5 to 6 points. Leonardo Trasande, a leading physician unaffiliated with the study, said it “raises serious concerns about fluoride supplementation in water.”
In 2018 the Canadian Malin study found iodine-deficient adults with higher fluoride levels had a greater risk of hypothyroidism (known to be linked to lower IQ). According to the Australian Thyroid Foundation, more than 50% of children and pregnant or breastfeeding women living in Australia have been shown to be iodine deficient, and are at risk of developing thyroid disease. The study’s author Ashley Malin said “I have grave concerns about the health effects of fluoride exposure.”
In 2019 the NIH-funded Green study,published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics found every 1mg/L increase in fluoride in Canadian pregnant women’s urine was linked to a 4.5 decrease in IQ in their male children. The physician editor of JAMA Pediatrics said “I would not have my wife drink fluoridated water” if she was pregnant.
In 2019 the Canadian Riddell study found that children and teenagers living in fluoridated regions were nearly THREE TIMES more likely to develop ADHD or ADHD symptoms, compared to those in non-fluoridated regions. This reinforced earlier studies linking fluoride to ADHD in Mexico (2018)and the US (2015).
In 2019 a systematic review of 149 human studies and 339 animal studies by the US National Toxicology Program concluded that “fluoride is presumed to be a cognitive neurodevelopmental hazard to humans.”
In 2020 the Till study, another NIH-funded study in Canada, found that babies fed formula mixed with fluoridated water averaged 4 IQ points less than those mixed with non-fluoridated water. Losses of non-verbal IQ were even more serious, an average of 9 points.

Considering this strong scientific evidence, I strongly urge Gympie Council to stop your archaic, harmful, ineffective, unethical and costly fluoridation program. As you Councillors are responsible for the decision to fluoridate, I urge you to reverse this unfortunate decision as soon as possible and set an example for other fluoridating Queensland councils.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Publicity material

You can print out the two following documents for Gympie or contact us and we will send you a batch of publicity material at cost, including car stickers, flyers, leaflets and cards. Other material can be seen here.