Q+A Panel Discussions In Response to Lawrie Brett

Q+A Panel Discussions hosted By Susan Wood

In Response to Lawrie Brett and Dr Jonathan Broadbent Interview

SUSAN WOOD
Jennifer Curtin, Nick Leggett and David Farrar. And, Nick, you’ve got a strong view on fluoridation?

NICK LEGGETT - Porirua Mayor
Well, I do, because, to me, this seems as though it’s not an issue about science; it’s people’s values versus science. And we see this across a lot of things in NZ. Immunisation is another one. But I trust the medical officer of health. I trust the Ministry of Health. I don’t think they’re trying to dupe New Zealanders into ingesting poison.

SUSAN Well, why would they be?

NICK Well, exactly. What’s the motivation? The reason is because there are studies to show, and I’ll use a local one in Wellington. All of our urbanised councils have fluoridation in the water between 0.7 and 1 milligram per litre of water. And it’s not poisonous. Anything is poisonous in a high enough quantity, in a high enough volume.

SUSAN Even water itself.

NICK Even water itself. Well, that’s the thing. We would all die of water intoxication before we died of fluoride poisoning by drinking out of any NZ water supply. Fluoride is naturally occurring in other areas of the world, so populations don’t have to have fluoridated water. In NZ, we have a very low natural level. That’s why councils, including our own, choose to have it. But just to give you’re a Porirua example, we know that Porirua children have a 30 per cent to 40 per cent reduction in dental cavities in comparison to similar populations that aren’t fluoridated. That is enough for me. Obviously, I want to be open minded. I want there to be continual studies on this, because we want to know that if we’re adding anything to the water that we’re getting a real benefit.

SUSAN Absolutely. And should this be a central government issue? Should it be like immunisation, which Nick referred to?

DR JENNIFER CURTIN - Political Scientist
Well, it’s clearly a public health issue, and then the role of the Ministry of Health is to give guidelines on that. I do think that the political dimension of this is really interesting. I mean, we have local government elections coming up in October. What the doctor from Otago said was really interesting about the timing of this, the kinds of submissions that have been received and the fact that Hamilton Council has decided to go with the 1000 submissions. I think watching to see if referenda happen on this is going to be really very interesting, because a lot of people won’t have engaged with this issue, but now there might be this fear campaign, and what will happen to the brushing of the teeth and the drinking of the water?

DAVID FARRAR - Kiwiblog
The council in Hamilton overrode their own referendum that had been held, and we just heard two, I’ll say, scientists arguing about what the science meant. I think the councillors probably went through the same. But, look, when different people argue, look at what the peak bodies say. Internationally, the World Health Organization, the American Dental Association, almost every dental group in the world says this is good for you. And if you look at motivations, it’s not like when, for example, in NZ, the Motor Trade Association comes out and say, ‘We need more often vehicle tests’ because they own vehicle testing stations. I think dentists would make more money if we had worse teeth. So when dental associations say this is good, there are actually acting against their own best interests.

SUSAN Yeah, they are.

NICK And I actually sit on a council where we’re subjected to people who are anti-fluoride on a fairly regular basis, and I would call it pseudo-science that they quote. They selectively quote. They’re quite fundamentalist in their approach, it would be fair to say, and there are scare tactics. Now, you have to listen with an open mind, of course, but the real science, as David said, does stack up, and I think that they’re the bodies that New Zealanders have to pay attention to in this debate.

DAVID Now I’ll have some fluoride. (TAKES A DRINK OF WATER)

SUSAN (LAUGHS) Have some fluoride.

ENDS

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