Response to letter from Christopher Pyne

Mid March 2005 the Parliamentary Secretary to Tony Abbott, Christopher Pyne replied to Greg Hunt MP who had made representation to Tony Abbott on my behalf In this reply almost the same ground is covered as in the six point letter of Gordon Nuttall to me.

• The so called optimal level of fluoride in drinking water, which is a fantasy;
  
• that so many health organisations have endorsed water fluoridation, the inverse pyramid based on the absence of any research by these organisations;
  
• that there is no national policy on the issue, it is left to State and Territory Governments;
  
• that the Australian Health Ministers have adopted a Plan to extend water fluoridation to communities across Australia with populations of 1,000 or more.

So, why mention this letter at all? Because of the following paragraph:

‘In Australia, about two third of residents now receive fluoridated water. Water supplies are fluoridated in all capital cities, except Brisbane, and in some major regional centres.’ And now wait for it: ‘Remaining residents can achieve adequate fluoride intake through the use of fluoridated toothpaste or dietary supplements.’

So there it is: toothpaste is enough, you don’t need water fluoridation. In the same The Courier-Mail of 17 November in which Professor Paul Connett wrote a short article on water fluoridation, Mick Daly in an introductory column with a photo of the American professor wrote:

‘Toothpaste is just as effective in fighting tooth decay as fluoridated water, a visiting international expert claimed yesterday.’

‘Dr Connett, a strong opponent of fluoride into water supplies, said, 'most of Western Europe had rejected fluoridation but had still been successful in tackling tooth decay.’

‘Fluoridated toothpaste — which is universally available — is a more rational approach to delivering fluoride to teeth while minimising exposure to the rest of the body.’

If this insight has already filtered through to the minds of our health authorities, (from where did Christopher Pyne get these ideas?) then why did they adopt a plan to extent water fluoridation, instead of planning to terminate water fluoridation in the whole of Australia? After all fluoride is a very strong poison.

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