OCTOBER 30, 2014

After a drawn out campaign that has lasted nearly a decade, residents of
Southampton and Hampshire County in the U.K. have successfully
defeated plans by the U.K. government to add fluoride to the drinking
water.
he plan to fluoridate Southampton, !ownhams, "astleigh, otton, and
#etley was first put forward in $%%& by the UK government's Strategic
Health Authority (SHA). *ut this week, +ublic Health "ngland, which is
the new name of the national health department, released a public
statement announcing that they would ,take no further action to
implement a proposed water fluoridation scheme that would have served
around -.%,%%% Southampton residents and a further /0,%%% people in
neighboring parts of south west Hampshire.1
he federal agency blamed their fluoridation failure on opposition by both
the Southampton City Council and the Hampshire County Council, as well
opposition from residents and local campaign groups such as Hampshire
Against Fluoridation. 2t was this brilliant group that persevered to educate
and organi3e their community under the leadership of both 4ohn
Spottiswoode and Stephen +eckham. hey were helped by the reporters of
the 5aily "cho, a local newspaper, who did their 6ob with professionalism
and ob6ectivity in reporting the issue throughout these many years. 7A#
will put out another bulletin that will detail the high drama and dirty
politics of the health entities that played out in Southampton over the
years.
As one county councilor said about the victory, ,2 think it's good news for
two reasons. 7irstly it's good for the people of Southampton and the
surrounding area that would have received this medication via their tap
water. *ut it's also good news because 2 think it sends out a message
nationally that public health bodies cannot impose their wishes open
people without their consent1.
Congratulations residents and campaigners of Southampton and
Hampshire County8
Victories in North America
9ast week two more communities in the U. S. and Canada took action to
end fluoridation.
7irst, the people of !ichmond, :uebec sent a clear message to the
government and to fluoridation proponents throughout Canada when &.;
of residents voted to re6ect the practice after three years of debate. he
vote is particularly important because it is the first referendum in :uebec
on fluoridation and the first real survey of public opinion on the issue
(only $.&; of the +rovince is fluoridated). he results run contrary to the
claims by pro<fluoridation public health e=perts who called opposition to
the practice ,a minority opinion and claimed that polls showed .%; of
residents were pro<fluoride prior to the vote.
>aking this victory even more special is the fact that citi3ens
overwhelmingly opposed fluoridation even knowing that the town would
have to pay the :uebec government ?-$&,%%% after re6ecting the practice
since the water department already used their grant money to build the
necessary fluoridation infrastructure. @e have also been told that the
campaign to keep !ichmond fluoride<free was started three years ago by a
group of concerned mothers, who despite strong opposition and many
roadblocks, persevered and built a well<organi3ed campaign that
ultimately succeeded in making !ichmond a safer place to raise children.
Also in Canada, 4ohn Sprovieri , the councilor who has championed the
ending of fluoridation in +eel !egion of Antario successfully won his re<
election campaign this week. He has been working alongside local
fluoride<free advocacy groups and put forth a motion this past 4uly to
reconsider fluoridation and establish a working group of councillors and
staff to hear from e=perts on both sides of the issue. His motion was
originally defered until September, but when it was brought up in
September the motion was again defered until after the Actober election.
his was likely done to protect pro<fluoridation councillors from being
held accountable by voters for their support of the practice.
2n respone to the council defering the motion, >ississauga resident and
Chairperson of Concerned Residents of Peel to End Water
Fluoridation, 9iesa Cianchino, filed a lawsuit against +eel !egion and the
+rovince of Antario challenging the constitutionality and lawfulness of
fluoridation since the harms overwhelmingly outweight the benefits of the
practice. he case will be heard in Antario Superior Court, and if
successful could eventually lead to the end of fluoridation throughout
Canada.
2n the U.S., the city council in 7orsythe, >issouri voted B<% to stop adding
fluoride to the drinking water.. he decision came after state officials
inspected the town's water infrastructure and concluded that water
employees couldn't accurately control the amount of fluoride additive
being in6ected into the public water supply. he state report said that ,tests
taken of the city water supply over the last since $%%C show that fluoride
levelsDhave been inconsistent enough to cause a concern1.
!ather then make the necessary upgrades to the fluoride infrastructure,
which are estimated at about ?-%%,%%%, the council voted to stop the
practice. 7orsyth is the twelth >issouri town to stop water fluoridation in
the past -. years. >ost city councils have cited the cost of fluoridation as
the main reason they chose to discontinue the service. 2n addition to
7orsyth, 7armington, @aynesville, *uffalo, and +evely all mentioned
damage to or problems with unreliable fluoridation eEuipment and
infrastructure when they decided to cease fluoridation.
New Multimedia to Share:
5r. >ercola has created a new three<minute long video entitled
,he o=ic ruth About 7louride and 2ts Health 5anger.1 he video
gives a good general overview of the fluoridation, and is a good way
to introduce your friends on social media to the truth about the
neuroto=in.
2f you missed Actober's 2nternational 7luoride 7ree eleconference
you can now download and listen to the audio. he teleconference
covered how to discuss fluoridation with friends, co<workers, and
family without creating conflict.
7A#'s 5irector and co<author of the ,Case Against 7luoride1, +aul
Connett, +h5, has been busy traveling around #orth America
educating residents and decision<makers about fluoridation, as well
as occasionally debating the rare proponent willing to defend the
practice. Here are several new pieces of multimedia from +aul's
travels that are definitely worth watching and listening toF
<Gideo of the entire +ublic 7luoride 5ebate held on Actober --
in *oyne City, >ichigan between +aul Connett and 5avid
7ierstien, a former wastewater operations foreman and
manager.
<Hreat video of +aul's presentation at the $%-B 2nternational
Academy of Aral >edicine Annual Conference.
<+aul's comprehensive 0%<minute radio interview on the
+rogressive !adio #etwork.