Fluoride has been banned in China for over thirty years. China, along with Europe and Japan (where is has also been banned), know that fluoridation is archaic and dangerous. Will the many more Chinese visitors to New Zealand be told toxic fluoride chemicals are added to NZ water?
Water fluoridation was banned in China because ingested fluoride causes skeletal and dental fluorosis. China fluoridated some urban areas back in 1965, but banned it in 1983 due to the dangers discovered by international scientists. The Chinese government now considers any water supply containing over 1 ppm fluoride a risk for skeletal fluorosis. Skeletal fluorosis has even been found at the lower level of 0.7ppm[1]. By contrast, the New Zealand Ministry of Health advises fluoride be added to water supplies, up to 1ppm.
Parts of China have very high amounts of naturally occurring fluoride, and as a result, 30 million Chinese people suffer from skeletal fluorosis. China and India both remove fluoride from water to make the water safe to drink.
57 human studies have now been published, examining fluoride’s effects on brain and neurological functioning. 50 of these show fluoride damage: lowered IQ, nervous disorders, and memory disruption etc. 38 of these studies were done in China. The Chinese are obviously well aware of the fluoride problem and make efforts to reduce fluoride exposure on their citizens.
Should John Key advise our Chinese visitors not to drink our water? As we have seen, the Chinese are keen to buy our beautiful, clean artesian water (before the fluoride is added), but we can be sure they won’t want the contaminated water New Zealanders are forced to drink.
It is well established that the first outward sign of fluoride toxicity is dental fluorosis. According to our Ministry of Health, 40% of children in New Zealand have some form of this disease. Surely it is blindingly obvious that our fluoride exposure needs to be reduced, not extended, as the Government is now proposing.
The chemicals used for fluoridation are the waste product of the phosphate fertiliser industry and are classified as hazardous, a Class 7 neurotoxin. Industry would have to pay to dispose of their excess if they did not sell the chemicals to the government for dilution via the public water supply. Their fluoride waste is not refined, and it is not pharmaceutical grade.
Information received from the Invercargill District Council shows the Council was buying its fluoridation chemicals in 2009 from the Chinese company Shanix, but had to stop because of discolouration and the presence of rust and bits of wood.
Fluoride Free New Zealand is calling for a complete halt to all fluoridation in New Zealand, and a halt to the Government proposal for mandatory fluoridation for the whole country. Please sign the petition
[1] SOURCE: Gupta R, Kumar AN, Bandhu S, Gupta S. (2007) Skeletal fluorosis mimicking seronegative arthritis. Scandanavian Journal of Rheumatology 36(2):154-5.