COUNCILLOR Dave Shields has raised ten questions on water fluoridation. Here are some answers:

1. Southampton has some of the best dental health statistics for any major city in Britain.

Most of fluoride’s effects are negative, even for teeth, as around 48 per cent get dental fluorosis in fluoridated areas, showing systemic fluoride poisoning.

2. Whether the addition of fluoride helps to improve teeth is hotly contested! Old research from the 1960s era indicated that it was beneficial but this research was often of poor quality or biased. More recent largescale studies have struggled to find any benefits. The best dental health is found in non-fluoridated areas.

3. Examples from other areas are also contentious. Cherry picking the best results is non-scientific.

4. Hexafluorosilicic acid is extremely hazardous and it easily creates an odourless lethal gas. An accident could cause a large part of Southampton to be evacuated, as happened at Avonmouth.

5. There are very cost effective alternatives, such as Childsmile and targeted help.

6. If fluoride was effective we would expect fluoridated areas to have lower dental costs.

In fact the overall dental costs are higher, partly due to dental fluorosis. It is the poor who suffer more adverse health effects because of nutritional deficiencies. Many cannot afford to install filtration systems or pay for private dental treatment.

Fluoridation hits the poor the hardest.

7. Fluoridation has been repeatedly shown NOT to have public support. Even the SHA’s own persuasion exercise (the so-called ‘public consultation’) showed that 72 per cent opposed it.

8. Water fluoridation is now illegal under EU law as the fluoridation chemicals have never been proven as safe.

The evidence is that fluoridation is very unsafe. Recent Government legislation also means that the previous proposal to fluoridate Southampton must stop. The councils are responsible for fluoridation now.

9. Over half a million pounds spent on this was a waste of our money.

10. The international position is that fluoride helps in toothpaste (but never swallow it!).

Many countries have considered water fluoridation but decided against and most countries do not support fluoridation – 98 per cent of Europe is fluoridation free.

Other big issues with water fluoridation are: n Fluorine is a serious toxin that accumulates in the body. It correlates strongly with some cancers, mental problems, reduced IQ, thyroid damage and more. Recent research identified fluoride as a neurotoxin. It is nonsensical to look only at the effects on teeth when the whole body is affected by drinking fluoride.

n It is ethically immoral to force people to drink fluoride like a medication in their water. Medical codes of ethics forbid medication without consent, and with good reasons. 72 per cent oppose fluoridation.

There are many very serious negative health effects that strongly link to water fluoridation, especially over a long period, as shown in the 2013 Irish study. Health authorities must look at the research properly without a pro-fluoridation bias.

The answers are clear. The evidence against water fluoridation is compelling and overwhelming.

JOHN SPOTTISWOODE, Chairman of Hampshire Against Fluoridation.