Comments made in recent media articles by two state branches of the AMA, strongly promoting fluoride, are deplorable.
April 2020
- Two short videos responding to the AMA and one longer video presentation on the neurotoxicity of fluoride;
- Fluoride is indeed a “no-brainer” and a “political playing card”;
- Neurological damage;
- Other physiological damage;
- A clear violation of AMA’s Code of Ethics;
- Independent research is required;
- The real cause of tooth decay;
- The history of fluoride in Queensland – “65% less tooth decay!”;
- Water fluoridation is NOT effective;
- Who does the AMA represent?;
- Our 15-second TV commercial to be screened around Australia;
- The source of “fluoride”: find out what you’re really drinking!;
- Can the NHMRC be trusted?
Professor Paul Connett responds to comments made by the President of AMA Queensland (9.5 minutes).
Professor Connett responds to comments made by the President of AMA NSW (9.5 minutes).
Fluoride is indeed a “no-brainer” and a “political playing card”
Dr Dilip Dhupelia, President of the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association, has used an unfortunate term, describing fluoride as a “no brainer”. He might literally be right as there is a substantial body of scientific evidence over the last 20 years – especially since 2017 – clearly showing fluoridation chemicals damage the developing brain of the fetus, infant and child. Dr Dhupelia, as a medical professional and an influential health spokesperson, we ask how you can ignore this substantial body of science?
And Dr Kean-Seng Lim, President of NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association, stated he would be “very disturbed to see the health of the population being used as a political playing card”. Dr Lim, with SO MUCH evidence showing fluoride is NOT safe, NOT effective and NOT ethical, to defend this reckless public health experiment with complete disregard for this evidence, especially recent science, we ask who is really playing politics with the health of the Australian population?
Dr Lim and Dr Dhupelia, clearly you are not aware that fluoridation is actually one of the most widely rejected health interventions in the world. But especially for you to ignore recent toxicology science, at the risk of causing neurological damage to our young (amongst other potential physiological harms), we believe is unprofessional and unconscionable.
See respective newspaper excerpts in the right side column.
Neurological damage
To date, 64 studies involving nearly 24,000 children have associated exposure to fluoridation chemicals with IQ loss in humans, while more than 60 studies have found that fluoride exposure impairs the learning and/or memory capacity of animals. These studies provide compelling if not overwhelming evidence that fluoride exposure during the early years of life can damage a child’s developing brain.
Among this steady stream of science over 20 years, there have been five Mother-Offspring studies showing the relationship between maternal fluoride ingestion and subsequent lowered IQ in their children.
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. Most had higher fluoride concentrations than in US and Australian water, but many had total exposures to fluoride no more than what millions of Americans and Australians receive.
In 2015, Malin and Till empirically demonstrated an association between widespread exposure to fluoridated water and increased ADHD prevalence in US children and adolescents.
Since 2017, EIGHT major studies and reviews have confirmed that fluoride damages the developing brain, mainly due to water fluoridation:
- The Bashash study (2017), a National Institutes of Health (NIH) – funded study in Mexico covering 13 years found that every one milligram per liter (1 mg/L) 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 5-6 points.
- The Till study (2018), a Canadian study found iodine-deficient adults (nearly 18% of the population) with higher fluoride levels had a greater risk of hypothyroidism (known to be linked to lower IQs). Author Ashley Malin said “I have grave concerns about the health effects of fluoride exposure.”
- The Green study (2019), another NIH-funded study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, found every 1
mg/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.
A detailed article about this study is available HERE.
MUST READ: A number of criticisms by pro-fluoridationists have been made about this study. A response to these criticisms is available HERE.
The JAMA Pediatrics Editor-in-Chief reported in an editorial on the journal’s stats for 2019, including the top three articles ranked by Altmetric score. Green et al. ranked number one. More details available HERE. - The Riddell study (2019), found that children in fluoridated areas have nearly THREE TIMES the risk of ADHD compared with children in non-fluoridated areas.
- The Till study (2019) another NIH-funded study, 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.
- The US National Toxicology Program Review (2019), a systematic review of 149 human studies and 339 animal studies concluded that “fluoride is presumed to be a cognitive neurodevelopmental hazard to humans.” The report is still in draft form, but NTP also said there is little chance they will change their finding.
- The Grandjean Review (2019), Developmental fluoride neurotoxicity: an updated review concluded; “The recent epidemiological results support the notion that elevated fluoride intake during early development can result in IQ deficits that may be considerable.”
- The Malin study (2019), found that in adolescents aged 16 – 19 years living with fluoridated water, there was a doubling of symptoms indicative of sleep apnoea, compared with those with low fluoride water.
A detailed summary including links to these studies is available HERE.
Doctors will challenge up to 50 Queensland councils to declare their support for fluoridation of drinking water ahead of this month’s local government elections, as the state battles the worst child tooth decay in the nation.
Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dilip Dhupelia will write to councils that do not have fluoride in their water supply, and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, in a bid to force the public health issue on to the agenda. “This is a serious health problem, and the solution — fluoride — is a no-brainer,” Dr Dhupelia said.
An excerpt from an article titled “Queensland councils feel election pressure on fluoride”, The Australian, 9 March 2020.
The Australian Medical Association will pressure anti-fluoride councils ahead of Queensland and NSW local government elections, and have warned a mid-NSW council against a proposed move to remove fluoride from the water supply.
NSW AMA president Dr Kean-Seng Lim said he would be “very disturbed to see the health of the population being used as a political playing card”. Dr Lim said if Port Macquarie Hastings decided to hold a popular vote the AMA “would be advocating for good, evidence-based public measures to remain in place”. It would be a shame to see a populist view override what is clear scientific evidence. Fluoride works. It reduces the rate of tooth decay and reduces cost, and it is safe.”An excerpt from an article titled “Doctors fight push to remove fluoride”, Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times, 15 March 2020.
Other physiological damage
Since October 2014 – the cut-off date for inclusion of any harms-related studies in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s last review on fluoridation (published July 2017) – more than 400 human and animal studies have been conducted showing the damage fluoridation chemicals can cause. Within the 180+ human studies, we feel 38 of these are particularly relevant. For more details, click HERE.
In particular, many studies have shown that fluoride affects the endocrine system and especially the thyroid gland. A detailed article on this subject, including a summary of the NRC review “Fluoride in Drinking Water”, 2006 and the results of three major studies (Peckham et al 2015; Kheradpisheh et al 2018 and Malin et al 2018) is available HERE.
In summary, evidence of several types indicates that fluoride affects normal endocrine function or response; the effects of the fluoride-induced changes vary in degree and kind in different individuals. Fluoride is therefore an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function or response…”
AMA’s Code of Ethics – a clear violation
Statements by the two state Presidents of the AMA, ironically appear to contradict the AMA’s Code of Ethics, the Australian Medical Council’s Code of Conduct and the National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (Queensland).
From the AMA’s Code of Ethics (2004, revised 2006 & 2016):
2.1.4 Communicate effectively with the patient and obtain their consent before undertaking any tests, treatments or procedures (there may be an exception in emergency circumstances) or involving them in research, teaching or disclosing their personal information to others.
2.1.5 Respect the patient’s right to make their own health care decisions. This includes the right to accept, or reject, advice regarding treatments and procedures including life-sustaining treatments.
2.1.6 Respect the patient’s right to refuse consent or to withdraw their consent.
2.1.7 Encourage and support the patient to take an interest in managing their health.
From the Australian Medical Council’s Code of Conduct:
3.5 Informed consent
Informed consent is a person’s voluntary decision about medical care that is made with knowledge and understanding of the benefits and risks involved. The information that doctors need to give to patients is detailed in guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Good medical practice involves:
3.5.1 Providing information to patients in a way that they can understand before asking for their consent.
3.5.2 Obtaining informed consent or other valid authority before you undertake any examination, investigation or provide treatment (except in an emergency), or before involving patients in teaching or research.
For a detailed article on how water fluoridation is a violation of ethics, click HERE.
The National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (Queensland) contains similar sections on consent and informed choices. This Code can be downloaded HERE.
Independent research is required
On 19 March 2020, the ABC published an article titled “Fluoride poll passes Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, despite no authority to act on ‘yes’ vote”. (Available here)
This article suggested that the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council does not have the power to cease fluoridation even if the residents decide they want it stopped.
However, according to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG), any water authority or water supplier must undertake its own research to ensure that no health problems are occurring. This is required by the disclaimer in the ADWG and NHMRC’s Fluoride Review (2017). Please click on the image right to read this disclaimer.
Therefore, if any water authority or supplier conducts its own independent research (as required by the ADWG disclaimer) and they have reasonable grounds to show that fluoridation may cause health problems, then fluoridation should be ceased immediately.
When conducting their own research any water supplier could rely on the latest US-funded neurotoxicity studies linking fluoridation with damage to the fetus, infant and child. However, even before investigating these recent studies, the Precautionary Principle should have triggered the cessation of fluoridation years ago.
Dental decay – the real problem
According to the National Oral Health Child Survey 2012 – 2014, the Queensland cohort of this study appears to have more dental decay (as measured by the average number of decayed, missing and filled teeth or DMFT) amongst children aged 5 to 10 years, than other states, except for Norther Territory.
It is worth noting however, the overall prevalence of untreated decay and caries experience was actually highest in Western Australia (92% fluoridated) followed by Queensland (about 72% fluoridated).
To conclude from this study that the apparent higher incidence of DMFT in Queensland is due to a lack of fluoride, would be extremely unscientific and highly irresponsible.
All capital cities in Australia (which are all fluoridated) are experiencing a dental decay epidemic or crisis amongst our children, with several cities reporting a record number of tooth extractions under anaesthetic for young children. Please see the newspaper excerpt in the right side column about the dental epidemic in Perth, which is 100% fluoridated. As this article points out, “baby bottle teeth” is directly caused by sugar, and fluoridation is irrelevant.
The main problem is SUGAR, followed by overall dietary profile, a lack of appropriate dental hygiene (regular brushing) and not seeing a dentist often enough. In addition to this dental decay crisis, Australia is also experiencing alarming rates of childhood obesity, diabetes and other diet-related health issues. Specifically, the major contributing dietary factors are the consumption of sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined carbohydrates and junk and processed foods. Therefore for health professionals and officials to claim this dental decay problem is due to a lack of fluoride is absolutely nonsensical and irresponsible! The only effective and responsible way to combat these major health problems is to continue addressing sugar and other dietary issues.
NONE of the dental surveys or fluoride efficacy studies are able to control for sugar consumption and total dietary profile. And all Australian fluoride efficacy studies are poor to extremely poor quality. See the section below and our detailed article showing fluoridation is NOT effective.
In addition to the oral health of children, we should also briefly investigate the oral health of Australian adults. The National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2017 – 2018 showed Queensland with an average 11.6 decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT) amongst the adult population (age 15 and above). This was very close to five other states, suggesting that fluoridation is irrelevant. See chart below.
The history of fluoride in Queensland – “65% less tooth decay.”
Queensland has a very contentious history when it comes to fluoridation with misleading and deceptive tactics rife. Of the state’s 77 councils, 29 are on record as having formally voted to reject mandatory water fluoridation, leaving only 21 councils adding artificial fluoridation chemicals to their water, despite an impressive claim of “65% less tooth decay” in a fluoridated area. Please read our detailed article to find out more about the misleading and deceptive tactics often used, especially the use of relative rather than absolute dental decay ratios, HERE.
Fluoride is NOT effective
Despite impressive claims from fluoride proponents, there is overwhelming evidence to show that adding fluoridation chemicals to our drinking water is NOT effective in reducing tooth decay. Please read this article to find out why, HERE.
Who does the AMA represent?
Given the unprofessional comments made by the Presidents of two state branches of the Australian Medical Association, we were curious to know who they are actually representing.
According to the AMA’s 2018 Annual Report, there were 29,659 members. And according to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA ), as at December 2019 there were 118,635 registered doctors in Australia.
This means only around 25 percent of all registered medical doctors in Australia are members of the AMA!
Watch our 15-second TV commercial
We are planning to screen our 15-second TV commercial around Australia on TV and YouTube. It’s time Australian’s found out the truth about the toxic industrial waste chemicals added to their drinking water that cause neurological damage to our young, amongst other harms. More details are available HERE.
MUST READ: The source of fluoridation chemicals
Most Australians have no idea where the fluoridation chemicals come from that are added to our drinking water constantly every day. Nor are they aware of the enormous cost of fluoridation to both us and the environment – despite enormous evidence to show it doesn’t even work! Find out what you’re really drinking HERE.
Can the NHMRC be trusted?
Finally, as many health professionals rely on our national health body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, to review the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation chemicals, we feel that every health official, every health professional and every fluoridating council in this country should read these two detailed articles:
An important disclaimer:
...the overall prevalence of untreated decay and caries experience was actually highest in Western Australia (92% fluoridated) followed by Queensland (about 72% fluoridated).
The following is an excerpt is from an article published in the West Australian on 18 February 2020, titled Child teeth emergency:
Dentists are pulling out rotten teeth from about 21 children a week at Perth Children’s Hospital, with some still in nappies and half not having had their 5th birthday.
Tooth extraction has been the most common emergency surgery at PCH since it opened in June 2018, with Child and Adolescent Health Service chief Aresh Anwar pointing out that it was higher than for broken bones.
Jilen Patel – a specialist paediatric dentist at PCH – said kids as young as 24 months were routinely having “five to six” teeth pulled out at once after being rushed to emergency departments with severe pain caused by decay. In some cases the pain was so bad the kids could not eat, sleep, play or speak properly.
He has branded tooth decay a “silent epidemic” and said more needs to be done to protect children’s oral health and educate parents about the issue.
Dr Patel said excess sugar consumption, including babies put to bed with bottles of milk or juice, was one of the main culprits of tooth decay.
