Sorting Facts from Fiction on Fluoridation – a Panel Discuss
Sorting Facts from Fiction on Fluoridation – a Panel Discussion Forum
The last year has seen
heated debate over fluoridation, with both sides
acknowledging there is a lot of misinformation in the public
arena. A new independent professional group, the
Fluoridation Information Network for Dentists (FIND), has
organized a panel discussion forum on the15th of February in
Wellington at Massey University to help clarify some of the
key issues. The panel will include presentations from
professionals with opposing views on water fluoridation,
followed by Q & A, offering the public answers to difficult
questions.
“The science on fluoridation has changed
dramatically since the 1950s, but few professionals are
aware of it. The public certainly isn’t, apart from active
lobby groups. Only open, transparent, public discussion will
resolve this long-standing controversy. The NZ Medical
Association called for this last year. So have those
opposing fluoridation. It is appalling that even dentists
are not getting an objective exposure to the current
science. This is why we have organized this event,” says
panel organizer and Wellington dentist, Stan Litras.
A
2013 Waikato University survey about water fluoridation in
NZ found that the public scored an average of only 1 ½
points out of a possible 13 correct answers. It also found
that the more people knew about the controversial issue, the
more they were likely to oppose it.
The decision is
currently made by local councils. The most thorough and
recommended practice for reviewing fluoridation policy is
the tribunal process, used in New Plymouth in 2011 and
Hamilton in 2013. The Ministry of Health supplied their top
fluoridation advocates. In both tribunals, councillors found
the scientific evidence and ethical arguments against
fluoridation convincing, and voted to end the
practice.
Kapiti Coast District Council will be
holding a similar consultation as part of this year’s
Annual Plan process. The process is recommended by the
Ministry of Health and the Office of the Chief Science
Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Three fluoridation
referenda in 2013 were heavily influenced by expensive
campaigns by District Health Boards. The Waikato DHB issued
a public statement claiming that one of their key campaign
aims was to “bombard” the public with their simple
slogans.
World fluoridation expert and opponent,
Professor Paul Connett, has accepted an invitation to the
FIND panel. Professor Connett is the director of the
Fluoridation Action Network (USA) and is a retired lecturer
in chemistry and toxicology, with degrees from Cambridge and
Dartmouth. The New Zealand Fluoridation Information Service,
The Ministry of Health, Otago Dental School and the NZ
Dental Association were all invited to join the forum panel,
but all have declined the invitation. It seems some NZ
authorities may havesuddenly lost confidence in their
pro-fluoridation position when invited to join an open
discussion about scientific research with Professor Connett
and other professionals at an academic forum.
The
Fluoridation Discussion Panel Forum will be held in
Wellington on Saturday the 15thof February, at the Massey
University Museum Building,1:30pm to 5:30pm. For more
information visit: www.tinyURL.com/fluoridationForum2014