October 2, 2012
The people of Portland, Oregon and Wichita, Kansas need your help more than ever. The fluoride-lobby, made up of the American Dental Association (ADA), the Pew Charitable Trusts, and Delta Dental, (with the highly partisan CDC Oral Health Division lurking in the background) have been reacting to growing fluoride opposition by significantly increasing their funding for fluoridation promotion nationwide, mobilizing their local members, and focusing their lobbying efforts on state legislatures and the largest cities without fluoridation. Right now those cities are Portland and Wichita, and unless local citizens can stop them they will just continue down the list of cities, undeterred by local opposition.
The pro-fluoride lobby has shown that they are willing to undermine the democratic process by working behind closed doors with lobbyists and decision-makers, limiting public discourse on fluoridation, providing campaign contributions, and concealing vital information on fluoride’s adverse effects from officials and the public. The Pew Charitable Trusts have been openly hiring additional lobbyists and campaign managers in an effort to expand their “Oral Health Initiative”. They have even hired former CDC Oral Health Division Director, Dr. William Maas, to lead their national fluoridation lobbying effort and act as the primary spokesperson.
With the Pew’s help, Portland city councilors disregarded 3 previous votes against fluoridation and agreed with lobbyists behind closed doors that they would fluoridate anyway. With the Pew’s help, Wichita city councilors were handed 11,000 signatures by fluoride lobbyists and were told they either had to approve fluoridation or put the question on the ballot, even though residents had voted against the measure previously and councilors opposed the measure.
We must do everything possible to fight this dual threat to public health and democracy. Now is the time to help the local citizens of Wichita and Portland send a loud and clear message to the national fluoride lobby that the days of forcing fluoridation on non-consenting citizens are over. Public Water, Public Vote!
Clean Water Portland is leading the campaign in Oregon to collect the nearly 20,000 signatures necessary to get a referendum on the issue. They have less than 15 days left and need as much local help gather signatures as possible. If you live in or near Portland, Oregon and would like to help this unprecedented campaign, please go to their website and download the official petition forms. Remember, you must use an official petition form, and the signers must be registered voters in Portland.
To help with fundraising, there will be a big anti-fluoridation benefit concert featuring the Dandy Warhols, 17 local bands, and 3 major DJ’s. The show will be on October 7 from 1pm-2am. All funds will be donated to Clean Water Portland for their signature gathering effort. You can help by pre-purchasing your ticket so that proceeds will be available for immediate use. Click here to Buy Tickets Now!
Even if you can’t make the concert, you can still help immensely by donating directly to Clean Water Portland by clicking here.
In Wichita, members of Wichitans Opposed to Fluoridation are working hard to educate the public prior to the November 6th referendum vote. The pro-fluoride lobby is spending big money with advertisements, radio spots, and mailers. Local campaigners are countering the propaganda with their own Letter to the Editor campaigns, yard signs, postering, radio ads, and public forums. But they need our help keeping up with the fluoridationists. You can volunteer or donate to the Wichita campaign by contacting Don Landis of Wichitans Opposed to Fluoridation.
Victories in Australia and New Zealand
Step-by-step, progress is being made around the world to free residents from forced fluoridation. Just recently, several more communities “down under” rejected fluoridation citing health concerns or the high cost.
In Australia, the State of Queensland will no longer mandate water fluoridation due to budget concerns. Ending the mandate is expected to create savings of $14 million dollars for the state. Instead, they have decided to give local councils the option and authority to fluoridate drinking water supplies. The repeal of the mandate has led to some communities rejecting previous fluoridation plans. The first was the southwest Queensland community of Cunnamulla, Australia, where the council voted against fluoridating the public water because of the cost and lack of evidence of effectiveness. The second was the Bundaberg Regional Council, which opposed forced fluoridation, and will be saving $4.5 million by rejecting the practice that would have impacted the region’s 100,000 residents.
In New Zealand, the Central Hawke’s Bay District Council went against district health board recommendations and voted 6-2 to end the existing fluoridation program in Waipukurua. Of the 149 public submissions to the council on the matter, only 14 asked to keep the fluoride in the water. The effort to remove fluoride from the community has been a 5-year process and was started by members of the community, not councilors.
The effort in Waipukurua is expected to help in the fluoride-free campaign going on in the Hastings District, where they are gearing up for a referendum. Hastings was the first city in New Zealand to fluoridate after a rigged trail in that city (see The Case Against Fluoride for details). You can learn more about the Hastings Campaign here. According to Fluoride Action Network New Zealand coordinator Mary Byrnes, “There are now only 23 councils out of a total of 69 that continue fluoridation in New Zealand.”
Sincerely,
Stuart Cooper
Campaign Manager
Fluoride Action Network
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