Human studies have usually started with high level occupational or accidental exposures among adults. Thereupon people have wondered whether lower levels might also affect children. Of the known developmental neurotoxins (DNT), all of them have been established very gradually, starting first with animal studies, or studies on adult humans, and then – finally - children. Thus, proving a chemical can damage a child’s developing brain in this way can take many years (e.g lead) and in the intervening years, may lead to millions of children being unnecessarily exposed. The authors suggest there is the potential for many more DNTs and point out that the vast majority of chemicals have not even been examined at the first level: animal tests.

This background makes The Lancet review’s discussion of fluoride even more important, because the authors single it out as one of the few which has been examined minimally (in both animals and humans) with the studies thus far indicating it has neurotoxic effects.

Their analogies to the "headliners" of lead, mercury, PCBs (dioxins), and arsenic are also worth discussing. Basically, the authors are suggesting that fluoride may be next in line (they describe it as an “emerging neurotoxic substance”), but since it took so long to "prove" that lead was a developmental neurotoxin, it may also take a while to "prove" fluoride is as well.

http://fluoridealert.org/bulletins/lancet.html



This is a medical treatment which defies every rule of drug management – administrated compulsorily every day, for a lifetime, regardless of age and medical circumstances (and with little prior education or choice for the community).

... 14 Nobel Prize winners who oppose water fluoridation on scientific grounds, including Arvid Carlsson who led the successful campaign against fluoridation in Sweden, and who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2000.

• Only nine countries in the world have fluoridation of more than 50 per cent of their public water supplies.

• Less than 2 per cent of Continental Europe's drinking water is fluoridated. Europe has abandoned the discredited practice over the past 30 years and with no loss to dental health.

• Japan, China, Scotland and Northern Ireland have rejected fluoridation. Israel has ceased expansion due to recent research exposing negative health effects.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0...3-27197,00.html

http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/safety.htm




Safety
Nearly all water on earth contains naturally occurring fluoride at levels below, equal to, or above those used in community water fluoridation. Investigation of the decay preventing effects of naturally occurring fluoride in water led to the start of community water fluoridation in 1945. For more than 60 years scientists have conducted epidemiological and animal studies to determine the effectiveness and safety of fluoride in water.

• Systematic and Evidence-based Reviews about Fluoridation Safety

Systematic reviews provide the best evidence about fluoridation safety. These reviews are completed by panels of experts following a set of carefully-designed protocols to methodically search for and retrieve evidence; assess the quality of and summarize the strength of the body of evidence; summarize information regarding other evidence; and identify and summarize research gaps.

• National Research Council (NRC) Report on Fluoride in Drinking Water
  
  The NRC released its report, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standard, on March 22, 2006. The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on whether the current maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of 4 mg/L protects children and others from adverse health effects. The NRC committee did not examine the health risks or benefits of water at the levels recommended for fluoridation of water to prevent tooth decay. The current range for water fluoridation of community water systems is 0.7 to 1.2 ppm (equivalent to 0.7-1.2 mg/L). Water that has fluoride at these levels is safe and effective for preventing tooth decay.
  
  CDC statement on the 2006 NRC report.
  
  See Frequently Asked Questions about the responsibilities of the EPA for setting standards for fluoride in water.
  
  Additional information on the NRC report including a Report in Brief *(PDF-1.58Mb) and how to order copies of the full report is available at The National Academies.*

• Enamel Fluorosis

The proper amount of fluoride helps prevent and control dental caries (tooth decay). Fluoride ingested during tooth development can also result in a range changes in tooth enamel. Because fluorosis is a condition that occurs when teeth are forming, only children aged 8 years old or younger are at risk. Children older than eight, adolescents, and adults are not susceptible to fluorosis.

• Recommendations to Reduce the Risk for Enamel Fluorosis

Enamel fluorosis occurs among some people in all communities, even in communities that do not fluoridate and have a low natural concentration of fluoride in drinking water. All persons are encouraged to know what steps can be taken to reduce the risk for enamel fluorosis.

• Infant Formula

The proper amount of fluoride at all stages of life helps prevent and control tooth decay. Recent studies have raised the possibility that mixing infant formula with fluoridated water, particularly for infants exclusively on a formula diet during the first year of life, may play a more important role in enamel fluorosis development than was previously understood. Learn more about infant formula and fluoridation.

• Water Fluoridation and Osteosarcoma

There has been a high level of public interest in a recently published study by Dr. Elise Bassin and colleagues that suggests an association between drinking fluoridated water and osteosarcoma in adolescent males. In making recommendations on community water fluoridation, the CDC and the U.S. Public Health Service are always guided by one overriding goal and interest—all our recommendations are designed to protect the health and well-being of the public. These recommendations are based on reviews of the best available science. CDC continues to strongly support community water fluoridation as a safe and effective public health measure to prevent and control tooth decay and to improve overall health.

• Health Effects and Environmental Impact

The safety of fluoride in drinking water at levels recommended for preventing tooth decay has been affirmed by numerous scientific and professional groups.

Scientists have found a lack of evidence to show an association between water fluoridation and a negative impact on people, plants, or animals.

• <A href="http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/fact_sheets/engineering/wfadditives.htm">Fluoridation Additives

Three additives—sodium fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate, and fluorosilicic acid—may be used to adjust the natural fluoride levels in water to concentrations that prevent or reduce tooth decay. Learn more about these additives and how they work in water.

Fluoride in the water is safe and has been a great boon to children's (and adult's) health. Any nay-say is just more of the silly "urban legend" pseudo crap.

BUT, in WILD IN THE STREETS with Shelley Winters, a great "bad" movie the kids put LSD In the drinking water to influence congress, and then put all the OLD people (over 30) in concentration camps. A 1968 movie.... great scene at the capital with al the senators and congressman tripping on acid...

I kind of like the idea of LSD in the water, don't you?

mm