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 Scientific and Critical Analysis of the 2014 New Zealand Fluoridation Report

Findings and recommendations

Failure to review health risks and identify harm

Sections of this critique focus on health risks and margin of safety considerations, which the report from the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor claims are met, but elsewhere in the report identifies that they are not met.

Many examples are given in this critique of the lack of scientific rigor in the NZ report, including several inconsistencies and inaccuracies contained in the report. The report fails to acknowledge that both the safety and efficacy of fluoridation have been questioned for decades by scientists, physicians, dentists, and other professionals, based on the available evidence.

On the questions of risk, specifically those related to dental fluorosis, lead concentrations, IQ, osteosarcoma and kidney function, the NZ report appears unjustifiably complacent. The report identified large sections of the population of NZ who exceed the toxic limits for fluoride ingestion, including:

• Bottle fed infants

• Children under 8 years old

• People with impaired kidney function

• People who drink a lot of fluoridated water

• People who have high fluoride intake from other sources such as diet and toothpaste

Political Bias

The authors of the New Zealand report adopt a noticeably biased approach. The political bias of the fluoridation promoters is demonstrated in the NZ Official Information Act correspondence included. The “elephant in the room” is that while decay rates have fallen in areas where fluoridation was implemented, it has also fallen in areas that were not fluoridated, often at a faster rate. This cannot in good faith be described as a robust and thorough review of fluoridation science by experts, as it fails to address conflicting evidence which is detailed in this critique.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of this critique, it is recommended that local councils suspend water fluoridation until central government conducts thorough safety studies. The burden of proof and guarantee of fluoridation safety lies with officials who enforce, promote and allow fluoridation. As yet, no fluoridation safety studies have ever been conducted, anywhere in the world.

 

Read Fluoride Free NZ’s Press Release: NZ Fluoride Report Inept and Misleading Say Internatio​nal Experts

 

 

 

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