Unfluoridate It!
Stopping the fluoridation of drinking water

Fluoride does not improve drinking water. Fluoride is added to drinking water for the sole purpose of improving dental health. But why fluoridate 100 per cent of a municipality’s water when only one per cent of that water is used (through beverages and food preparation) for human consumption? Fluoride’s effect is topical, meaning fluoride only works when it comes in contact with teeth – swallowing it offers no benefits. It has also been demonstrated that fluoridation does not contribute to preventing dental cavities in children before they turn six.

Fluoride can produce a myriad of harmful and very serious health effects – from dental fluorosis to bone cancer. Dental fluorosis is a sign of fluoride poisoning caused by the excessive ingestion of fluoride before the appearance of permanent teeth. Fluoride toxicity disturbs the tooth enamel formation process, producing enamel discoloration and permanent marbling. Fluoride can also have negative effects on the kidneys and brain and can cause skeletal fluorosis.       

Fluoride can also have negative impacts on the environment. After it is added to drinking water, wastewater treatment plants do not remove it. It is bioaccumulative, and we do not know how it affects plants and wildlife.

Water fluoridation raises legal and ethical issues because it is a way of knowingly prescribing and administrating a medication to an entire population (mass medication) without its consent, without public consultation, without knowing the individual health condition of the subjects (age, gender, history, etc.), their daily dose of fluoride (from various sources) and their food and hygiene habits. This does not comply with the rules of professional practice and goes against the ethical codes of all health professions.

The Direction de la santé publique (DSP) [public health branch] of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) [Quebec Health and Social Services Ministry] is considering increasing access to fluoridated drinking water by 50 per cent by 2012. The MSSS has committed to paying a subsidy to municipalities to cover the costs of purchasing, designing, installing, repairing and replacing fluoridation equipment, as well as the cost of the fluoride used.

Take action!

Use the sample municipal resolution provided on this webpage to get your local city council to “Unfluoridate it!” and stop adding fluoride to municipal drinking water.

Sample resolution WHEREAS the effectiveness of water fluoridation on dental health has not been proven, and new reports from the York Review (British Dental Journal) and the Medical Research Council in England demonstrate the ineffectiveness of adding fluoride to drinking water; AND WHEREAS fluoride maybe harmful for some people, including diabetics, people with kidney disease, babies and children; AND WHEREAS a medication, without a doctor's prescription, is being given to an entire population, each member of which has not given his or her consent and each member's need for which has not been identified; AND WHEREAS water purification plants do not remove fluoride, and the fluoride contained in drinking water is released into our waterways; AND WHEREAS fluoride is toxic and bioaccumulative and we do not know the consequences of it on plants and wildlife; AND WHEREAS fluoridated water is not a necessary measure for those who brush their teeth regularly. There are much more effective and less costly methods for the people who need it such as education in schools and the distribution of toothbrushes; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT (name of municipality) will not fluoridate its drinking water.