The ‘Girl Against Fluoride’ Aisling Fitzgibbon (right) and Saoire O’Brien, of Direct Democracy Ireland, at the Irish Medicines Board last year
This just in…
From Australia:
Australian health authorities are reviewing the case for fluoride in drinking water amid concerns scientific evidence supporting the benefits and risks to people’s health may have shifted.
While most Australians have been regularly consuming low amounts of fluoride since it was added to drinking water in the 1960s and 1970s to prevent tooth decay, several controversial studies in recent years have suggested the mineral may be linked to low intelligence in children and thyroid problems that can cause weight gain, fatigue and depression.
Today the National Health and Medical Research Council revealed that a 2012 study linking very high levels of fluoride to low IQ among some Chinese children prompted it to commission a new review of the health effects of the celebrated public health intervention.
Oh.
Studies linking fluoride in water to health issues prompt Australian review (Julie Medew, The Age)
Related: Fluoride On
Thanks Mark Geary
“As epidemiological evidence goes, this is about as weak as it gets”.
This place may as well be tir na saor at this stage.
wouldn’t you be more at home on boards.ie?
‘Irish Medicines Board stop drugging us with fluoride’?
‘cover up’?
“a 2012 study linking very high levels of fluoride to low IQ among some Chinese children”
Jesus, so what. This just in: very high levels of paracetamol linked to overdose and death! Oh noes! Ban headache tablets!
This’ll give a boost alright to the enragingly-named ‘girl against fluoride’, ignoring the fact that all her own reasons she’s been banging on about since forever have long since shown to be arrant bunk.
The study:
2012 study linking very high levels of fluoride to low IQ among some Chinese children
The headline:
Studies linking fluoride in water to health issues prompt Australian review
Forgot the ‘very high levels’ there Ted, something which no one on either side would disagree with.
How high?
“….the study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives identified drinking water with fluoride concentrations up to 11.5 mg/ L in China. In Australia, the recommended level is 0.6-1.1 mg/L.”
Between 10 and 20 times higher.
You’re forgetting that the study also mentioned high levels of other things in the water. Nice friendly things like arsenic…
Haha… missed that :) Won’t stop the anti-flouride loons tho
Such silly, emotive language. Who do they believe are gaining from adding fluoride to the water? The fluoride moguls?
Its how they get the microchips in ya.
Whats the bet these two are also anti-vaccine?
No need to bet. They are. Yer wan’s facebook and twitter accounts frequently spread anti-vaxx nonsense.
But of course!
They regularly claim that fluoridation is just a way to sell an industrial by-product.
Ah for feck sake
Look at Aisling’s perfect teeth with no cavities and great skin. She must be drinking better water than us.
She must be drinking a lot of fluoride, because she’s thick as shit.
haha
loool
hahaha
The freemen are jumping on this bandwagon…as per Clampers post above why are we giving Tir Na Saor/Freemen/DDI or whatever they are now oxygen?
^ This, a 100 times this.
It isn’t news that Broadsheet are a pack of conspiracy theory-spouting crusties. It became apparent when they ran out of things that look like Ireland and people taking photos with iPads.
Nobodys forcing you to play atlas
He misses us if he doesn’t
He’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders poor lad
Indeed, and I come here less and less because of it. In fact, much more of this and I’m pretty much done with BS. Doubt I’d be the only one.
Spouting sensationalist pseudoscience for a few quid in ad revenue is cynical, irresponsible and morally wrong. I can’t abide it. As someone else pointed out here, they wouldn’t dare try this racket with the anti-vax pseudoscience. They’re not even principled in their cynicism.
You do realise BS is making fun of this person yes?
I don’t think he does Don
No, they’re very much not.
They’ve linked to and included a quote from an article with a strong anti-fluoride slant and from that quote, they’ve emphasised the misleading allegation that the science ‘may have shifted’. There’s nothing to indicate from anything that surrounds the quote that this is quackery and to be ridiculed. It’s also the third anti-fluoride post they’ve published, versus one from a dentist that calls it out for what it is – pseudoscience.
If you were to give them the benefit of the doubt (which I wouldn’t because of all the pseudolegal Freemen on the Land bullsh*t they also publish) I’d still have an issue with the fact that they present both ‘sides’ of the argument has having merit when the anti-fluoride argument is pure quackery. It’s cynical and irresponsible no matter what way you look at this.
I think you seem to be taking on too much and it’s causing you some stress. I hear Mercury is a lot lighter than Earth, why not carry that around for a while.
Oh Atlas…….
rinse and spit like a good man. now, don’t try and talk, cos you sound like you only have half a face.
Ooh this is always fun
It never gets old. Can’t wait until Irish Water get involved in the fluoridation business. Oh yes.
This would be Broadsheet click-bait gold.
I’d say she can’t wait either, as they’ve already been tarred as the great evil. From Facebook:
The Girl Against Fluoride
February 21 at 5:17pm · .
What a turnout today outside Mountjoy from those supporting the release of the five people imprisoned for protesting against the installation of water meters. These brave hearts have stood up against the corporate take over of our water supply. Let’s hope they will soon be released.
+1
Don’t blame your low IQ on what’s in the water.
Are they insinuating that people who take in too much fluoride begin to exhibit symptoms like posting on boards or worse , become journal.ie readers?
I wonder do they bookmark things like this:
http://theconversation.com/how-fluoride-in-water-helps-prevent-tooth-decay-6933
…the pseudo-science invoked by the anti-flouridation brigade has as much credibililty as claiming that blondes are dim.
Hey! you can’t spell pseudo-science without science.
Fact!
Is everyone here ignoring the fact that it has an affect on thyroid health??? As someone who has struggled with an underactive thyroid for years it wrecks my head that it’s completely overlooked.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3169868/
Im fairly sure that that is the main focus of most of the research and rebuttals.
Your link doesn’t seem to say anything about flouride
Flouride was used in the treatment of thyroid issues in the early part of the 20th century. Levels of 2mg to 5mg per day over a period of months were used to slow thyroid function. The levels in Irish water are between 0.6mg and 0.8mg.
Excess fluoride does, the key word being excess
Ya, but if your thyroid is already dodgy ingesting a thyroid suppressing drug will do it no favours. Why is there such a fight against having a choice??
I’m curious, has your doctor said anything about drinking fluoridated water?
Its not a drug. The levels are very small. I do not imagine a dr would have real concerns unless your thyroid is very rubbish in which cause they would adjust the drugs you are taking and get you to use non-fluoride toothpaste and avoid fortified foods.
But as the British Thyroid Association say (www.btf-thyroid.org/index.php/thyroid/fables)
“The available medical and scientific evidence suggests an absence of an association between water fluoridation and thyroid disorders. Many major reviews of the relevant scientific literature around the world support this conclusion.” Excerpt from the British Fluoridation Society Statement, January 2006, reviewed and endorsed by the British Thyroid Association. http://www.bfsweb.org/facts/sof_effects/statementofflo.htm“
Also, do you drink tea? Its packed with fluoride.
Really? Interesting; probably why it is so delicious.
And aluminium too. Do you think anti-vaccine people know about this shocking contamination of their food??!!
Never heard of bottled water no?
Orlita, anything else to add?
Did you also hear about that single solitary article from a few years ago that linked the MMR vaccination with autism? Maybe you can run a story on that? The Girl Against Flouride doesn’t seem to be a big fan of vaccinations either: http://geoffsshorts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/girl-against-fluoride-f-minus-for-effort.html
And while you’re at it, post hoc ergo proctor hoc.
Wow, what a loon
so Australia will become like 97% of western Europe by not adding fluoride to water.if they have decent dental care it’ll be a good test case.
The other 97% of western Europe adds it to salt or milk – maybe they’ll begin to that instead.
and then Aussies will have choice..win/win shirley
Like they do now – nobody is forcing anyone to drink tap water.
What a stupid argument! Not everyone can afford bottled water for drinking and cooking
Well, they don’t need to, but if they choose not to drink tap water, that’s their business
And some people hate salt and are lactose intolerant.
Also shedloads of people can’t afford dental care, fluoridation helps with that.
You can buy a flouride filter for your home, Orlita, and then you can pour yourself a nice, tall glass of refreshing tinfoil hat, I mean water.
and don’t call me shirley
Correlation does not equal causation.
These whackos always ignore that fundamental principle.
Nice headline, btw.