Fluoridation - Evidence of a Cancer Risk!

http://www.bragg.com/healthinfo/fluorideriskFS.html Don’t Drink the Water? Fluoride from your tap may not do much good – and may cause cancer.           Remember the great fluoride debate? Back in the 1950’s, every voice of authority, from the U.S. Public Health Service to the PTA, supported adding fluoride to the water supply as an effective and totally safe way to promote healthy teeth. The only opponents seemed to be John Birchers and other extremists who regarded the scheme as a diabolical communist plot. In the years since, most of the nation’s major cities fluoridated their water, and the issue appeared closed. No less an objective voice than Consumer Reports declared in 1978, “The survival of this fake controversy . . .represents one of the major triumphs of quackery over science in our generation.”           In fact, the debate never ended. Now it may explode as never before, posing new challenges to medical dogma and giving parents one more thing to worry about. Government researchers have new evidence that casts doubt on the benefits of fluoridation and suggests that it is not without risk. The most incendiary results come from the National Toxicology Program (NTP), which in 1977 was ordered by Congress to determine whether fluoride causes cancer. This week NTP plans to release data showing that lab rats given fluoridated water had a higher rate of a rare bone cancer called osteosarcoma. According to a memo by the Environmental Protection Agency, “very preliminary data from recent health studies . . . indicate that fluoride may be a carcinogen.”           Fluoridation proponents are already criticizing the NTP study, but it will be harder to discredit or ignore than hundreds of earlier experiments, varying in quality from around the world, that have linked fluoride to mottled teeth, skeletal damage, genetic defects and other ills.           During the two-year experiment, rats and mice drank water with different levels of sodium fluoride. None of the animals drinking fluoride-free water developed cancer, nor did any of those drinking water with the lowest fluoride concentration, 11 parts per million (ppm). But of the 50 male rats consuming 45 ppm water, one developed osteosarcoma. Four of 80 male rats drinking 79 ppm fluoride developed osteosarcoma. No mice or female rats showed signs of bone cancer.           Although the animals drank higher concentrations of fluoride than people, (the legal standard is 4 ppm), such megadosing is standard toxicological practice. It’s the only way to detect an effect without using an impossibly large number of test animals in lieu of the humans exposed to the substance.           Although the final NTP report will not be released for months, several independent toxicologists find the results significant. Most important, the rats who did not drink fluoride did not get cancer, indicating that the malignancies are “not a fluke,” says EPA scientist William Marcus.
There is also a convincing relationship between dose and response: the more fluoride, the more cancers. Pathologist David Kaufman of the University of North Carolina warns that the rat data must be examined to see if the cancers appeared in the long bones	“Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century, if not all time.” – Robert Carton, Ph.D., Toxicologist “The survival of this fake controversy represents the major triumph of quackery over science in our time!" – Landmark Article in Consumer Reports '78	of the arms and legs, as osteosarcomas do in humans, or in other places, which might make the results less relevant to people. Still, Kaufman says NTP data “make fluoride look like a weak carcinogen. It’s obviously something to worry about”
– but not panic over. are about 900 cases of osteosarcoma in the United States annually; even if fluoride caused all of them – an impossibility – the lifetime risk to any individual from drinking fluoridate tap water would still be only about one in 5,000.           Too crude:  If fluoride causes bone cancer in lab rats, then why, after 45 years of fluoridation, haven’t researchers seen a rash of osteosarcomas in fluoridated cities? Because epidemiology is too crude to detect it even if the cancers are there. In the 1970’s, the National Cancer Institute found no sign of higher cancer rates in fluoridated cities. But that reassuring finding may be misleading. According to Donald Taves, a fluoride expert, if the difference were anything less than 7 percent it would not be detectable. Another obstacle to definitive epidemiology is mobility: just because a person got osteosarcoma in a fluoridated city does not mean he had been living there all his life.           The NTP results assume an added importance when combined with recent data on the shrinking benefits of fluoridation. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), tooth decay is anywhere from 50 to 70 percent less in fluoridated areas. But figures from the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR), part of the National Institutes of Health, suggest otherwise. A 1987 survey of almost 40,000 schoolchildren found that tooth decay had declined sharply everywhere. Children who always lived in fluoridated areas had 18 percent less decay, compared with their peers who had lived in nonfluoridated areas. This 18 percent translates into a difference of fewer than one cavity per child. Similarly, in a 1986 paper in the British journal Nature, Australian researcher Mark Diesendorf assessed 24 studies from eight countries and found that cavity rates had declined equally in fluoridated and nonfluoridated areas, suggesting fluoridated water isn't that important! As a result of all these past and current studies, argues Alan Gray, a leading pro-fluoridation dentist in Canada, "it is now becoming difficult to provide accurate, and ethical advice" to people about fluoridation. Since 1996 these 11 Associations no longer endorse Water Fluoridation: • American Heart Assoc. • American Academy of Allergy & Immunology • American Cancer Society • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Action Network  • American Diabetes Assoc.  •  National Institute of Law Municipal Officers  • American Chiropractic Assoc. • American Civil Liberties Union • Nat’l Kidney Foundation • American Psychiatric Assoc. • Soc. of Toxicology           Fluoridation is unique among environmental controversies, in that one side has consistently denied that questions of risk or benefit even exist. The ADA states, "Anti-fluoridation groups attempt to create the illusion of a scientific controversy (which is ) merely a ploy to create doubt about a well-researched, well-demonstrated preventive measure." But even well-researched articles raise hackles. When, in 1988, Chemical & Engineering News presented a balanced report on fluoridation, it attracted the wrath of the medical establishment. Says Taves, "Too many scientists lost their objectivity. This has become a religion on both sides."           The NIDR kept files on people perceived as threats to fluoridation. Political decisions were at odds with expert advice: a panel convened by the Surgeon General even in 1983 expressed concern, in closed sessions, about skeletal and dental damage from fluoride. At one point, a member said, "You would have to have rocks in your head, in my opinion, to allow your child much more than 2 ppm (fluoride)." Said another, "I think we all agree on that." Even so, in 1986 EPA raised the fluoride standard from 2 to 4ppm, except in Calif. where it remains 2ppm. A Few of the Serious Health Disorders Caused By Deadly Fluoridated Water: •  Cancer with all its deadly forms •  Digestive System Disorders Ulcers & Colitis, Inability to Utilize Vit. B & C, Constipation & Nausea, Cirrhosis & Hepatitis •  Kidney, Bladder & Urinary Disorders •  Respiratory & Lung Disorders Tuberculosis, Asthma, Sinusitis & Bronchitis •  Circulatory Diseases Arteriosclerosis, Heart Attack, Hypo & Hyper-Tension, Varicose Veins, Coronary Thrombosis •  Blood Conditions Leukemia, Hemophilia & Anemia . Mental & Neurological Disorders Neuroses & Psychoses & Multiple Sclerosis • Eye Diseases & Endocrine Dysfunction Cataracts, Glaucoma, Goiter & Impaired Gland Functioning of Adrenal, Thyroid & Sex Glands • Skin, Nail & Hair Conditions Acne, Boils, Dermatitis, Eczema, Alopecia & Lupus • Bone & Joint Conditions - Osteoporosis, Bone Cancer, Arthritis, Swollen & Aching Joints • Teeth & Gum Diseases Gum & Periodontal, Mottled & Darkened Teeth, Bone & Calcium Loss • Other Miscellaneous Conditions Premature & Stillbirths, Hearing Loss and headaches and a host of other problems           This month EPA opened a review of the standard. Once EPA receives the official NTP report, it will establish a target "safe" fluoride level. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the level for carcinogens be zero, but the standard may be based on what is technically feasible. Fluoridation can be stopped immediately, but many communities with naturally fluoridated water would have to take out the fluoride if it exceeded the limit of 4 ppm. As the EPA wrestles with standards, John Sullivan of the American Water Works Association fears, "confusion will reign" since some laws will still require fluoridation, a practice many claim causes cancer!           As they await EPA’s decision, pro-fluoridationists are invoking arguments of social justice. Dental researcher Ernest Newbrun of the University of  California, San Francisco, contends that fluoridation promotes the health of children of “all races and all socioeconomic classes,” not only those with enough money or discipline or access to the health system to take a fluoride supplement every day. He and others say it is morally wrong not to provide the benefits of fluoride. The NIDR’s and other's surveys suggest that fluoride in toothpastes and dental rinses also ensures healthy teeth for those who use the fluoride products, they imply that those who don't use them might suffer.           No one can foresee how the fluoride debate will play out this time. But since the 1950’s, the country’s environmental consciousness has been heightened. In the end, deciding whether or not to fluoridate turns less on science than on values. The sheer weight of good research may finally, after four decades, begin to wisely inform those judgments and even overwhelm the unscientific rhetoric that has characterized both sides of the debate for far too long. – SHARON BEGLEY FLASH – LATEST INFO!  Visit Web For Fluoridation News: • www.Keepers-of-the-Well.org • www.bragg.com • www.fluoridealert.org • www.rvi.net/~fluoride • www.fluorideresearch.org • www.fluoridation.com • www.bruha.com/fluoride • www.gjne.com/cfsdwh Excerpts from the Bragg Water Book J. William Hirzy, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President of the  National Federation of Federal Employees stated in a letter, July 2,1997 to Jeff Green, of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, “I am pleased to report that our union, which represents and is comprised of the scientists, lawyers, engineers and other professionals at the headquarters in Washington, D.C. of the US Environmental Protection Agency, has voted to co-sponsor the California Citizen’s Petition to prohibit fluoridation. The evidence over the last 11 years indicates a causal link between fluoride and cancer, genetic damage, neurological impairment, bone pathology and lower IQ in children. We conclude that the health and welfare of the public is NOT served by the addition of fluoride to the public water supply!” •        Some fruit juices contain shocking amounts of fluoride, with some brands of grape juice containing much higher levels – up to a highly toxic 6.8 ppm! The use of fluoride-containing insecticides in grape crops is a factor in these high levels. Cooking can greatly increase a food’s fluoride content. Also, keep in mind that toxic fluoride is also an ingredient in pharmaceuticals, aerosols, insecticides and pesticides. Common fluoride levels in toothpaste are 1000 ppm. When fluoride is ingested, about 93% is absorbed into the bloodstream and what is not excreted is deposited in the bones and teeth of the body – Shocking Facts! •        Fluoride use is toxic, absolutely unsafe and should be stopped immediately! The government feels that its central concern is to protect industry, therefore the solution to pollution is dilution! You poison everyone a little bit rather than poison a few people a lot. This way, people don’t know what’s going on. Any public health official who criticizes the practice of toxic fluoridation is at risk of losing his job. Shocking: National Toxicology Program Researchers downgraded cancers caused by fluoridation after being coerced by superiors to change their shocking, truthful findings. •        Fluoride has been proven to cause osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer; squamous cell carcinoma in the mouth; fluorosis of the teeth; osteosclerosis of the long bones; liver cancer; chromosome aberrations; genetic damage; and skeletal fluorosis and deformities. B. Spittle, author of Psychopharmacology of fluoride: a review states “There appears to be evidence that chronic exposure to fluoride may be linked with cerebral impairment that affects particularly the concentration and memory in some individuals.” More Fluoride Warnings: Studies show fluoride in all its many uses, including public drinking water, causes cancer: •   The overwhelming evidence shows that fluoridation is causing an increase in bone cancer and deaths among males under 20. •   The growing increase in bone cancer attributable to fluoridation may be due to also an increase in osteosarcoma, all caused by fluoride. •   The overall preponderance of evidence shows that fluoridation is causing an increase in oral (mouth) cancer among human populations. Don’t use fluoride toothpastes or give your dentist consent to do fluoride gel treatments or use fluoride polishing paste. •   Fluoride has been linked to many health problems: • bone and oral cancers in animals and humans • an ability to inhibit the DNA repair enzyme system • it accelerates tumor growth • it inhibits the immune system • it causes genetic damage in a number of different cell lines and induces melanotic tumors, fibrosarcomas, etc. • other tumors and cancers strongly indicate that fluoride has a generalized effect of increasing them overall. •        According to our estimates, over 10,000 people in the United States die of cancer each year due to fluoridation of public drinking water. •  Hip Fracture Rate Highest in U.S. The fluoridation of our water is weakening our bones, slowly but surely. –  U.S. National Research Council and Townsend Letter for Doctors •  Fluoride and Osteoporosis Seniors living in areas with elevated fluoride levels in drinking water suffer up to 41% more hip fractures.  In a study of 3,578 senior citizens, those who lived in areas with fluoridated water had a much greater risk of hip fractures.–  Journal of the American Medical Association •  Fluoride and Bone Cancer One study concluded that males under the age of 20 who live in areas with fluoridated water were six times more likely to suffer from bone cancer than males who don’t. –  New Jersey Department of Health •  The Deadly Costs of Fluoridation When a claimed 20% decrease in tooth decay is compared to a 600% increase in bone cancer or a 41% increase in hip fractures, when the cost of a tooth filling is compared to the cost of a hip fracture or cancer treatment, it is obvious that the human and economic costs of fluoridation are staggering. –  Health Action Network – www.hans.org •  Fluoridated Water Increases Bone Cancer Risk In a study conducted by the New Jersey Department of Health, young men who  drank fluoridated water had a higher incidence of bone cancer. –  The Record •  Osteoporosis, Calcium and Fluoride The National Institutes of Health (NIH) gathered a panel of “experts” to discuss the causes of the rising epidemic of bone fractures in the elderly.  Although the evidence clearly shows that calcium supplements don’t help, and just as clearly shows that fluoride is terrible for the bones, the NIH simply recommended an increase in the recommended daily allowance of calcium. –  The Fluoride Report •  The Overwhelming Evidence that Fluoride Weakens Bones Dr. John Lee showed that “...7 out of 10 recent studies show a clear correlation between bone fractures and water fluoridation. One of these studies involved 560,000 women over 65. The size of this study completely obliterates the few reports of small populations that showed no correlation.” –  The Fluoride Report, September, 1994 •  Fluoride Actually Reduces Bone Strength, Instead of Increasing It! In a five year study conducted to test fluoride as a treatment for osteoporosis, bone density was actually decreased 45%, therefore causing osteoporosis, rather than preventing it! The doses used were very close to the amount Americans take in over a fifty year span.  – Bone, Vol. 15, 1994 •  How The EPA is Spending Your Tax Dollars When Dr. Bill Marcus won back his job with the EPA after being fired for blowing the whistle on the cover-up of fluoride’s hazards, the EPA refused to pay interest on his two years of lost wages. While the lawyers haggle, the whole sum is being withheld, and guess who’s paying for the EPA’s lawyers? - The Fluoride Report •  Fluoridation Accidents Swept Under the Rug Toxic spills of fluoride in drinking water have happened in several communities, but these were never publicized. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even deaths occurred. – Townsend Letter for Doctors •  Why Do Researchers Continue to Support Deadly Fluoridation? Once accepted, scientific theories become very hard to debunk. Research done on the topic after a theory has been accepted becomes “a strenuous and devoted attempt to force nature into the conceptual boxes supplied by professional education.” –  Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions •  Fluoride: Shocking Facts Fluoride has never received FDA approval and wouldn’t pass if it were subjected to the FDA’s standards of safety and effectiveness. It’s more toxic than lead by the EPA’s standards and accumulates in the body. The maximum allowable lead in drinking water: 0.015 mg/liter; the maximum allowable for fluoride: 4.000 mg/liter. –  Health Action Network – www.hans.org •  Fluoridation: A Health Violation of Medical Ethics Fluoride is a pharmacologically active substance unrelated to water purification. There is no possibility of obtaining individual informed consent for medication with this experimental drug when it is placed in a public water system. For these reasons, fluoridation violates the Nuremburg Code of medical ethics and human rights. –  Health Action Network •  Fluoride: Industrial Waste The fluoride in your water is actually toxic waste left over after the manufacture of aluminum and chemical fertilizers. –  Dr. John Yiamouyiannis, Fluoride, The Aging Factor •  Environmental Protection Agency Infighting EPA toxicologists have long been asking that the standards for water fluoridation be revised, while EPA administrators continue to reject their warnings and have even disciplined employees who have spoken out. – The Pittsburgh Press •  Fluoridation is Big Business Despite the fact that it doesn’t actually prevent tooth decay in children or adults, government officials still devote our tax dollars to fluoridation. Several other countries tried it and stopped when their research showed that the risks far outweighed the benefits. In this country, the big companies that make huge profits from selling this toxic waste material are so powerful that the facts are swept under the rug. – Let’s Live! May 1996. (This magazine, originally called California Health News, was started by Paul C. Bragg, who changed the name because, he said, “Everybody wants to  –  Let’s Live!” ) •  Mohawk Indians’ Fluoride Tragedy In  the  period from 1960 to 1975, a Mohawk Indian tribe in the Northeast U.S. was all but obliterated by fluoride contamination. Cows, fish and children all suffered from tooth and bone deformities caused by wastes from two major metal manufacturers. (Now all Indian reservations have fluoridated water!)–  “Fluoride: Commie Plot or Capitalist Ploy?” by Joel Griffiths •  Fluoride is Highly Toxic The fact is that fluoride is more toxic than lead and just slightly less toxic than the killer arsenic.  – Gary Null, The Fluoridation Fiasco • Use Non-Fluoride Toothpaste Fluoride in toothpaste is absorbed through the lining of the mouth, and in only one or two brushings, a milligram of fluoride enters your body. –  Health Action Network •  Fluoridation Increases Lead Contamination Fluoride leaches lead from plumbing and water mains. In Tacoma, Washington, where lead content of water had risen above EPA limits, fluoridation was halted because of equipment failure. Officials were surprised at the resulting 50% drop in lead contamination.  –  Letter from C.R. Myrick, Water Quality Coordinator, Tacoma, WA •  Fluoride Affects Immune Function Because of its disabling effects on enzyme activity, fluoride reduces resistance against infection.  –  Complementary Medical Research •  Fluoride Adversely Affects Central Nervous System Scientific studies link fluoride to learning disabilities and coordination problems.–  Townsend Letter for Doctors   •  Fluoride and Decreasing Birth Rates Fluoride is found to decrease fertility in studies of animals and humans. –  Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health •  Highly Publicized Fluoride Studies Show Medical Mistake The high doses of sodium fluoride used in clinical studies of this drug are known to lead to a condition called osteofluorosis.  This means abnormal bone growth and calcification of tendons and ligaments. Although this may help prevent spinal fracture and compression, it also increases risk of hip fracture and causes arthritis-like pain. – Open letter from pioneer John Lee, M.D., to C.Y.C. Pak, M.D., regarding Dr. Pak’s study on sodium fluoride in the Annals of Internal Medicine •  Juice Drinks Contain Dangerous Levels of Fluoride 42% of commercially prepared juices contain toxic levels of fluoride. Grape juice is especially bad because of fluoride-containing insecticides used on grapes. –  Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry •  Danger is Not Only in The Water, but in Processed Foods There are no regulations on fluoride content of processed foods. Many of these packaged foods are loaded with deadly fluoride.  – Health Action Network •  Tooth Decay Decline Unrelated to Fluoride Tooth decay has declined worldwide, with no difference between countries with or without water fluoridation. –  Health Action Network •  The Sad, Unnecessary Epidemic of Dental Fluorosis This disease, marked by tooth enamel malformation, mottled-discoloration and brittleness, affects up to 30% of children living in areas with fluoridated water. Only 10% of children in non-fluoridated locations have dental fluorosis. –  Public Health Service figures •  H. Dean Changes His Mind and Retracts Fluoridation Endorsement! H. Trendly Dean, the original promoter of water fluoridation, admitted under oath in 1955 that it doesn’t work as a remedy for tooth decay. –  Fluoride, Vol. 14,  No. 3, July 1981 •  Study Reveals That Fluoride Causes Tooth Decay Children in India who drank fluoridated water suffered from significantly more tooth decay than children who did not. Especially at risk were children with very little calcium in their diets. –  The Journal of the New Zealand Pure Water Association •  Children Poisoned by Toothpaste When Crest fluoride toothpaste was first sold in the 1950s, warnings that it should not be used in children under six were eliminated from the package  – because they damaged sales!  When two children in Tacoma, Washington, began to throw up every night before bed, doctors told the parents that their toothpaste was to blame!  At last fluoride danger warnings are now mandatory on all new fluoride toothpaste labels! - The Fluoride Report Keep Toxic Fluoride Out of Your Water! Most water Americans drink has fluoride in it, including tap, bottled and canned drinks and foods! Now, ADA (American Dental Assoc.) is insisting that the FDA mandate the addition of fluoride to all bottled waters! Defend your right to drink pure, nonfluoridated  tap and bottled waters!  Challenge and stop local and state water fluoridation policies!  Call, write, fax or e-mail your state officials and congress people and send them a copy of this revealing book.