Page 1832 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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was, unknowingly to the patient, given again. When adverse reactions occur, the therapy can be readily discontinued and the patient or parent advised of the fact that sensitivity exists and the element is to be avoided as much as possible.
Here we have the proof for which people have been looking - it has been proved by a dental research group over 14 years - that fluoride affects people, and that is what I come back to again and again. For goodness sake, please understand that it affects teeth but that it also affects people. People have reported to me with serious side effects. I will not give the full names of these people. A Miss Fran, I will call her, has swollen glands. Every time she drinks fluoridated water the glands in the throat swell, but when she goes on to purified water the glands return to normal. Jennifer, who came from Canada to this area, had RSI which was alleviated by drinking fluoride-free water. We cannot say that all RSI cases are caused by fluoride, but some people react in this manner.
I have the names of three people here who have fluorosis. A particular lady has a three-year-old whose teeth break off if she just bumps them because they have been affected by fluorosis. That is fluoride poisoning of this child. An 80-year-old was virtually housebound because of dizziness and arthritic pain until he started to drink non-fluoridated water. Diarrhoea and other massive effects on the general health of people have been reported. These people would offer their bodies for research to be carried out by our medical profession. I suggest, again, that if the Minister for Health is at all interested in this he might ask for these people to present to his hospital staff and they can do some tests. Let us prove this; let us do it properly.
Mr Stevenson has had a work on fluoride published, but the fact that he had written it was met by derision. I am amazed at the narrow-minded outlook of some of the people in this Assembly. Of all the pro-fluoridationists to whom you have spoken around this town, have any had a report published? Once a report is published it is open to public scrutiny and legal challenge if it is incorrect. Mr Stevenson's document has not been challenged legally. Therefore I put it to you that derision is the last thing that should have been levelled at him.
Minister Berry claimed that there is a hidden agenda. Hidden agenda by whom, I would ask. The committee is welcome; the investigation into this aspect is welcome. As well as toxicity and civil liberties, he brought in iodine, chlorine and Epsom salts, I think. He brought in everything that he could think of because he had little to say on fluoride. Red herrings! They had nothing to do with the issue. We know lower socioeconomic groups are going to be affected. They have to put up with the inconvenience of ill health as a result of fluoridation of the water, particularly if they cannot afford to buy purifiers.
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