Greens in Govt would stop water fluoridation: Gormley.

[Champa]

On the 13th of March 2007 Mr Gormley issued a statement in which he said:

Greens in Govt would stop water fluoridation
Issued: 13 March 2007

Statement by John Gormley

Spokesperson on Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Northern Ireland



The Green Party today said that it would stop the fluoridation of Irish water supplies if elected to Government. Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that water fluoridation had reached its sell-by date and that the latest international research meant that fluoridation was no longer tenable.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, Deputy Gormley said: "The latest advice from the American Dental Association tells parents to avoid using fluoridated water when bottle feeding babies because of the dangers of fluorosis - the staining and pitting of teeth which can result from overexposure to fluoride. This advice should be heeded. The balance of
international evidence proves that water fluoridation should be stopped immediately.

See here:
http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/lat...r_fluoridation

Has there been any movement to fulfill this pledge?. What steps have Mr Gormley and his colleagues taken to bring this about, if any?.

[FutureTaoiseach]

Fluoridation helps protect against tooth-decay and should continue.

[Compound Fracture]

Fluoridation helps protect against tooth-decay and should continue.

Not quite as simple as that. This may have been true in the 1950s, when toothpaste was not exactly a widely-held commodity, and dental hygiene was bog-standard.

Only extremely small amounts of flouride are necessary for dental health, which people get these days by simply brushing their teeth. There is a lot of research to suggest that the huge amount of flouride in our public water supply is damaging to dental health

[michael1965]

Fluoridation helps protect against tooth-decay and should continue.

Not quite as simple as that. This may have been true in the 1950s, when toothpaste was not exactly a widely-held commodity, and dental hygiene was bog-standard.

Only extremely small amounts of flouride are necessary for dental health, which people get these days by simply brushing their teeth. There is a lot of research to suggest that the huge amount of flouride in our public water supply is damaging to dental health

There are only very small amounts in the water supply. The scientific consensus is currently in favour of flouridation at the levels currently used (2 parts per million I think), which is why the UK has just decided to expand the usage of it.

IMHO the problem for the Greens was that people who have had an axe to grind over this issue for years, have had disproportionate influence over the party. But, they are part of the consensus now, and can't really be seen to reject accepted science.

[Gombeen]

On the 13th of March 2007 Mr Gormley issued a statement in which he said:

Greens in Govt would stop water fluoridation
Issued: 13 March 2007

Statement by John Gormley

Spokesperson on Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Northern Ireland



The Green Party today said that it would stop the fluoridation of Irish water supplies if elected to Government. Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that water fluoridation had reached its sell-by date and that the latest international research meant that fluoridation was no longer tenable.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, Deputy Gormley said: "The latest advice from the American Dental Association tells parents to avoid using fluoridated water when bottle feeding babies because of the dangers of fluorosis - the staining and pitting of teeth which can result from overexposure to fluoride. This advice should be heeded. The balance of
international evidence proves that water fluoridation should be stopped immediately.

See here:
http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/lat...r_fluoridation

Has there been any movement to fulfill this pledge?. What steps have Mr Gormley and his colleagues taken to bring this about, if any?.

He also favours tackling man-made global warming, but sure aren't they both just conspiracies started by vested interests. Don't worry your pretty little head about it!

[Champa]

On the 13th of March 2007 Mr Gormley issued a statement in which he said:

Greens in Govt would stop water fluoridation
Issued: 13 March 2007

Statement by John Gormley

Spokesperson on Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Northern Ireland



The Green Party today said that it would stop the fluoridation of Irish water supplies if elected to Government. Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that water fluoridation had reached its sell-by date and that the latest international research meant that fluoridation was no longer tenable.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, Deputy Gormley said: "The latest advice from the American Dental Association tells parents to avoid using fluoridated water when bottle feeding babies because of the dangers of fluorosis - the staining and pitting of teeth which can result from overexposure to fluoride. This advice should be heeded. The balance of
international evidence proves that water fluoridation should be stopped immediately.

See here:
http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/lat...r_fluoridation

Has there been any movement to fulfill this pledge?. What steps have Mr Gormley and his colleagues taken to bring this about, if any?.

He also favours tackling man-made global warming, but sure aren't they both just conspiracies started by vested interests. Don't worry your pretty little head about it!

Don't you mean climate change?. Anyway I didn't ask anything about that, try to stay on topic if it is not too much trouble gombeen (what an apt name).
Have you anything to say about Mr Gromleys pre election "promise" or would you rather it was swept under the carpet like many of the other "promises" that were made before the election?.

[Champa]

Fluoridation helps protect against tooth-decay and should continue.

It is also a by product of the aluminum industry and an accumlative poison. But hey, as long as it stops tooth decay.

[DaveM]

This old chestnut comes out of the same drawer as Patricia McKenna's attack on the safety of the MMR vaccine in the run up to the general election.

Just for the record here is a list of some organisations that endorse flouriation:

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
American Association of Public Health Dentistry
American Dental Hygienists Association
American Dental Association
American Public Health Association
Australian Dental Association
British Dental Association
British Medical Association
Canadian Dental Association
Canadian Dental Hygienists Association
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry
FDI World Dental Federation
International Association for Dental Research
National Cancer Institute
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
World Health Organization

Personally I find it hard to believe that all these organisations are conspiring to willfully poison the masses and I will trust their judgement over a that of a few malcontents on the fringe of the Green Party.

[John_C]

as long as it stops tooth decay.

That's my thinking.

[Gombeen]

dp