UK Parents Say NO To Fluoride In School Milk

Telegraph and Argus, Bradford, UK
www.telegraph-and-argus.co.uk

By Suzy Poole

4-30-02


Bradford parents have voted overwhelmingly against adding fluoride to school milk. In a telephone poll, 92 per cent of callers said no to the move, although dental experts believe it will stop children's teeth rotting away. The Telegraph & Argus set up the survey after revealing that the regeneration project Bradford Trident had funded a feasibility into adding fluoride to milk in nurseries and primary schools. Jenny Godson, assistant clinical director of Bradford Personal Dental Services, which is leading the programme to improve children's oral health in the area, said she was not surprised. "Usually it's the people with strong feelings who respond and the strongest feelings are usually those against, so it's not surprising," she said. "When we get to our feasibility study, people will be able to make up their own minds.


"We will be giving a balanced view of what benefits they might expect and any negative things they might be concerned about. "Obviously if we thought there was any harm, we wouldn't be thinking of possibly adding fluoride."


Bradford has the highest rate of tooth decay in the region. More than half the population have suffered decay by the age of five, with an average of four rotten, missing or filled teeth. The feasibility study is just one part of a three-pronged attack on children's tooth decay in West Bowling, Marshfields and Park Lane over the next four years. Parents and children will also be educated on oral health and healthy tooth brushing. And project leaders have stressed that parents will be consulted as part of the study.


But George Glasser, of the Wakefield-based National Pure Water Association which campaigns against fluoride, said more and more parents are accessing information about fluoride on the Internet. He also believes that children's urine should be tested when school fluoridated milk schemes are introduced, in line with World Health Organisation guidelines, as it is a cumulative poison. "More people are asking questions," he said. Researchers were unable to make up their minds on the benefits of adding fluoride to school milk, he added. "It all boils down to proper education about oral health, tooth brushing and diet," he said.

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AFTER RECEIVING SEVERAL CALLS FOR HELP FROM ANXIOUS MOTHERS WE SENT THE FOLLOWING LETTER to 135 Members of Manchester City Council on Monday, July 24, 2000.

Subject: FLUORIDE IN SCHOOL MILK

Earlier this year, Dr Martin Tickle, dental public health officer, said that parents will be asked to give consent for their children to have fluori-dated milk at school. The World Health Organisation warns that in school fluoridated milk schemes testing of urine samples is now considered mandatory, FOR SAFETY REASONS. This is part of international scientific research criteria. Presumably, the Manchester City Council Education Department, to comply with their fiduciary duty, will formally request Parental Consent for their children's urine samples to be analysed. Since the addition of a "fluoride" compound ("fluoride," a complete misnomer for a very toxic substance, is cumulative in the body) is intended to create actual bodily change in the children, it is also the Council's fiduciary duty to ensure that the following considerations and adequacy of warnings are taken into account. Parents must be properly WARNED about the side-effects of ingested fluoride (i.e. dangers, outlined in the Toxicological Profile for Fluorides, Hydrogen Fluoride and Fluorine, ATSDR,


1993 and Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride, National Research Council, NAS, 1993) before being asked to consent to the dosing of their children.


Would you kindly let us know,

1 Who will be legally responsible for administering and supervising the ëfluorideí supplement to the children in this experiment?

2 A child who chooses not to drink milk may pass his/her medication to another child for consumption, which could happen on a daily basis. Which teacher(s) will be legally responsible for ensuring that this does not occur?

3 Who will be legally responsible for the collection and labelling of urine samples?

4 How often will the childrenís urine samples be tested ñ per week, per month, per term?

5 Who will be legally responsible for actually testing the childrenís urine samples?

6 Who will be legally responsible for the toxicological monitoring of the scheme?

7 Who will be responsible for ascertaining that no other fluoride supplements (i.e. drops, tablets, toothpaste, fluorinated medications ñ i.e. Prozac, fluoroquinolones, asthma inhalers, etc) are being taken by individual children? The World Health Organisation warns, "Dental and public health administrators should be aware of the total fluoride exposure in the population before introducing any additional fluoride programme for caries prevention." (Fluorides and Oral Health, 1994, WHO, Geneva.).

8 Who will be legally responsible for assessing the current fluoride exposure of the children before the fluoridated school milk experiment commences?


Before any vote is taken to implement the Fluoride in School Milk scheme, it should be noted that in order to avoid any potential personal liability Councillors who abstain from supporting the scheme should have their abstentions, and their reasons therefor, recorded in the Council Minutes. Please visit our website: http://www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk and its links for more information about fluoride and fluoridation. Yours, etc. Jane Jones, National Pure Water Association Ltd www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk


Note: NOT ONE REPLY WAS RECEIVED FROM THE COUNCIL. The LEA phoned but contributed nothing of substance, and the dental public health officer failed to answer our queries.


School fluoridated milk programmes are also being planned for Sheffield.

Reprinted from:
http://www.telegraph-and-argus.co.uk/bradford