FIND Calls for National Debate on Fluoridation

FIND Calls for National Debate on Fluoridation

Friday 15th April, 2016

With NZ moving towards government enforced water fluoridation, there has never been a more urgent time for open public discussion on a national level.

“A national level decision demands national level debate” says Dr. Stan Litras of the dentist group FIND.

Dentists from FIND have been presenting evidence at public meetings around the country and in Australia, as well as to city councils since 2013, with the aim of “filling in the gaps” which they see being left by fluoridation promoters such as the NZ Dental Association and the DHBs.

“We believe the current state of knowledge on water fluoridation is being misrepresented to the public, and to decision makers, with benefits being exaggerated and dangers being dismissed”

Fluoridation has been banned in many countries over health concerns as well as ethical considerations. These countries include Japan, Scotland, Northern Ireland, China, Russia, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Israel, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic.

We believe the facts speak for themselves, and the NZ public must be assured that any national level decision on fluoridation is the correct one based on these facts.

This is a legal requirement under the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005), to which NZ is a signatory which states that “in no case should a collective agreement or the consent of a community leader or other authority substitute for an individual’s informed consent”.

FIND has invited health authorities and NZ Dental Association spokespeople to attend public meetings for a balanced debate on several occasions and they have declined to do so.

“When you are talking about the deliberate addition of a substance considered a contaminant by the World Health Organization to the whole nation’s water supply, the arguments need to be aired in the public arena, not decided behind closed doors.”

“For our part, we would be quite open to change our views on fluoridation if we are shown any sound evidence to support it, which to date we have not, rather than a list of endorsing organizations.

So let's sit down in front of the cameras and put our arguments and evidence directly to the New Zealand public”

ENDS

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