IN recent months there has been considerable activity by anti-fluoride groups in Eastern Australia.
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Australia's peak medical body, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), is setting up a Committee to review the Water Fluoridation Policy. This body has responsibility for water fluoridation, water quality Guidelines, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Anti-fluoride activists are incensed that the planned Fluoride Review Committee will be stacked with pro-fluoridation dentists who predictably will give a big tick to the current policy, last reviewed in 2007. Toxicologists and biochemists are required on this Committee because they can comment knowledgably on potential harm to human tissues caused by fluoride.
The NHMRC has excluded dental fluorosis from the current review, preferring to hand this over to a separate review process. Most alarming of all is the fact that only post 2006 publications will be considered by the Committee. The US National Research Council's balanced Review of 2006 will be automatically excluded. The latter pointed to a number of genuine health concerns.
Extensive communication with the Federal Ombudsman over the TGA's responsibility relating to water fluoridation has come to nought. It would appear that the TGA should be monitoring the purity of water fluoridation chemicals and their effects on the environment, but is not doing so.
Dr. John Lusk
President, Citizens Against Fluoridation Inc.)
Port Macquarie