Start an Infant Fluoride Warning Campaign
There is no better time than now to start an infant fluoride warning campaign in your own community. At least 41% (as possibly as high as 65%) of American adolescents have dental fluorosis as a result of overexposure to fluoride. Public health organizations like the American Dental Association (ADA) have known for years that infants should not be consuming fluoridated water, but they have done little to educate parents and consumers for fear that it will jeopardize their work to expand fluoridation.
An infant fluoride warning on water bills and annual water quality reports is a proactive way to finally educate parents, caregivers, state officials, and public health professionals about the need to reduce infant exposure to fluoride so they can take action to prevent a further increase in the fluorosis rates and overexposure. Click here to see a copy of FAN’s model legislation.
Since initiating our campaign in 2010, infant notices have been adopted in states and cities throughout the United States, impacting millions of residents. In 2011, the city of Austin, Texas passed a resolution calling for the posting of infant warnings on the City’s website, in neighborhood centers, in WIC stations, and in notices sent to all Austin Water Utility customers. Several months later, in 2012, the New Hampshire Legislature (the largest in the U.S.), the State Senate, and the Governor overwhelmingly approved HB1416, which required infant notices in all annual water quality reports, on water company websites, and in all town halls.
Only months after NH’s victory, the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin approved a resolution requiring an infant notice in annual water quality reports, posted on the water works and health department websites, and posted in all health department facilities. In addition, the resolution also required health department personnel to inform residents about the risks of fluoridated water for infants when conducting maternal and infant home visits.
These wins got the ball rolling, and now many other communities, including large cities like San Francisco, have adopted similar warning language. But we still need your help to keep the momentum going in the effort to educate parents and water consumers about this critical issue.
Below are the basic materials necessary to start a campaign locally. Review all of the materials yourself to learn about the campaign, then share them with friends, colleagues, local media, your pediatrician and dentist, and with local decision-makers, such as your City Councilors or State Legislators. While an infant warning is a great fluoride policy reform for all fluoridated communities, it is particularly helpful in communities that are forced to fluoridate by the state or county government. In this case, while you may not be able to prohibit fluoridation at the local level, you can certainly introduce an infant warning to educated local parents and to protect local children. An infant warning is also particularly helpful when confronting a city council that is supportive of fluoridation. This is fluoride policy reform that even proponents can and should get behind.
**NEW RELEVANT STUDY**
Till et al. (2019) reported lower IQ at between 3 and 4 years of age.
This newest study, released on November 18, is titled Fluoride exposure from infant formula and child IQ in a Canadian birth cohort. This study was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and published in Environment International. The authors “examined whether feeding status (breast-fed versus formula-fed) modified the impact of water fluoride and if fluoride exposure during fetal development attenuated this effect.” The mothers urinary fluoride (MUF) levels were used as a proxy of fetal fluoride exposure. A second model estimated the association between fluoride intake from formula and child IQ. According to the authors:
- Consumption of formula reconstituted with fluoridated water can lead to excessive fluoride intake.
- Breastfed infants receive very low intake of fluoride.
- We compared IQ scores in 398 children who were formula-fed versus breastfed during infancy.
- IQ scores were lower with higher levels of fluoride in tap water.
- The effect was more pronounced among formula-fed children, especially for nonverbal skills
____________________________________________________________________________
INFANT FLUORIDE WARNING CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
- FAN’s Infant Fluoride Warning Overview Handout
- Additional Infant Fluoride Warning Statements Handout
- “Calculating the Correct Dose” Infant Fluoride Supplementation Guidelines Handout
- FAN’s Infant Fluoride Warning Poster
- FAN New Zealand’s Infant Fluoride Warning Poster
- Original ADA eGram Infant Warning
- Video: FAN’s Infant Fluoride Warning Overview
- Dr. Paul Connett and Dr. James Beck discussing the Infant Fluoride Warning Campaign (Part One / Part Two)
- New Hampshire Infant Warning Law and final bill text
- Milwaukee, WI Infant Warning Resolution Language
- Examples of Opposition to Infant Fluoride Warnings (Example One / Example Two)
TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION:
- Send a Letter to the Editor of your Local Paper about Infant Fluoride Warnings
- Send your State Legislators a Letter Urging them to Support and Introduce an Infant Fluoride Warning
- 5 Ways to Protect Your Child Immediately
-
-
The Absurdities of Water Fluoridation
[caption id="attachment_10205" align="alignleft" width="190"] Paul Connett, PhD[/caption] Water fluoridation is a peculiarly American phenomenon. It started at a time when Asbestos lined our pipes, lead was added to gasoline, PCBs filled our transformers and DDT was deemed so "safe and effective" that officials felt no qualms spraying kids in school classrooms
-
Why I am now officially opposed to adding fluoride to drinking water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-hKlIgCuM April, 2000 To whom it may concern: Since April of 1999, I have publicly decried the addition of fluoride, especially hydrofluosilicic acid, to drinking water for the purpose of preventing tooth decay. The following summarize my reasons. New evidence for lack of effectiveness of fluoridation in modern times. [caption id="attachment_10211" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Hardy
-
50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation
Introduction [caption id="attachment_11821" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Paul Connett[/caption] In Europe, only Ireland (73%), Poland (1%), Serbia (3%), Spain (11%), and the U.K. (11%) fluoridate any of their water. Most developed countries, including Japan and 97% of the western European population, do not consume fluoridated water. In the U.S., about 70% of public water supplies are
Related Articles:
-
-
-
Fluoride & IQ: 76 Studies
Note: See the Updated list of fluoride IQ studies at https://fluoridealert.org/researchers/fluoride-iq-studies/the-fluoride-iq-studies/ • As of July 18, 2022, a total of 85 human studies have investigated the relationship between fluoride and human intelligence. • Of these investigations, 76 studies have reported that elevated fluoride exposure is associated with reduced IQ in humans. • The studies
-
Fluoride's Effect on Fetal Brain
The human placenta does not prevent the passage of fluoride from a pregnant mother's bloodstream to the fetus. As a result, a fetus can be harmed by fluoride ingested pregnancy. Based on research from China, the fetal brain is one of the organs susceptible to fluoride poisoning. As highlighted by the excerpts
-
Fluoride: Developmental Neurotoxicity.
Developmental Neurotoxicity There has been a tremendous amount of research done on the association of exposure to fluoride with developmental neurotoxicity. There are 78 studies reporting reduced IQ (75 studies with children and 3 studies with adults) and several on the impaired learning/memory in animals. And there are studies which link
Related Studies:
-
-
-
Email Exchange with FDA re: Fluoride Supplements
Email exchange regarding FDA's reasons for not approving fluoride supplements.
-
Harvard's Statement on Chester Douglass/Scientific Misconduct
Statement Concerning the Outcome of the Review into Allegations of Research Misconduct Involving Fluoride Research BOSTON-August 15, 2006-The Harvard Medical School and School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) review of Chester Douglass, DMD, PhD, professor of oral health policy and epidemiology at HSDM, has concluded that Douglass did not intentionally omit, misrepresent,
-
The 'Altered Recommendations' of the 1983 Surgeon General's Panel
"We believe that EPA staff and managers should be called to testify, along with members of the 1983 Surgeon Generals panel and officials of the Department of Human Services, to explain how the original recommendations of the Surgeon Generals panel were altered to allow EPA to set otherwise unjustifiable drinking water standards for fluoride."
Related Miscellaneous Content:
-