Since the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) first issued a statement in August 2007 calling for an end to fluoridation, over 1300 additional professionals signed on as even more evidence emerges to condemn fluoridation.� �
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Now over 1,850 professionals urge Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted, citing scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. See statement:� �
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Since the first FAN statement, the following has occurred:�
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� --� The� Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Canada’s leading voice on environmental health issues, released a statement opposite fluoridation.�
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--� The National Kidney Foundation dropped its fluoridation support replacing it with this caution: “Individuals with CKD� [Chronic Kidney Disease] should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure.”� �
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� -- Researchers reporting in the Oct 6 2007� British Medical Journal� indicate that fluoridation was never was proven safe or effective and may be unethical.�
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� --� “A qualitative review of ...studies found a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ,”� concluded Tang el al., in "Fluoride and Children’s Intelligence: A Meta-analysis” in Biological Trace Element Research� (e-published� 8/10/08)� �
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� � � -- Scientifc American editors wrote in January 2008, "Some recent studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland"�
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� -- Dr. A. K. Susheela, a leading fluoride expert, explains in a video why US physicians overlook fluoride as a possible cause of diseases regularly caused by fluoride. Find it on YouTube�
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-- An expert panel� � Health Canada commissioned to study the risks of fluoride exposure says the government should cut the recommended amount in drinking water, hearten the use of low-fluoride toothpaste by children and have makers of infant formula decrease levels in their products.� � �
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Signers to the FAN statement include:�
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� --� Dr. Arvid Carlsson,winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine�
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� --� � Vyvyan Howard, MD, PhD, President, International Society of Doctors for the Environment�

� --� Ken Cook and Richard Wiles, Environmental Working� Group

� --� Lois Gibbs, Center for Health, Environment, and Justice

� --� Joseph Mercola, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, who runs the #1 most visited natural health website

� --� � Theo Colborn, PhD, co-author, “Our Stolen Future”

� --� � Sam Epstein,� MD, Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition

� --� � The recent and six past Presidents of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and� Toxicology

� --� Board of Directors (2007), American Academy of Environmental Medicine

� --� FIVE Goldman Prize winners - given for excellence in defending the environment� �
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.� --� Three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride’s toxicology�
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� --� Three officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters�
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� --� Hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and environmental professionals, worldwide.
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Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Arvid Carlsson says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of new pharmacology. It's truly obsolete.”
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“The NRC fluoride report dramatically changed scientific understanding of fluoride's health risks," says Paul Connett, PhD, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network.� "Government officials who continue to promote fluoridation must testify under oath as to why they are ignoring the powerful evidence of harm in the NRC report,” he added.� �
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The Professionals’ Statement also references:
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-- The new American Dental Association policy recommending infant formula NOT be prepared with fluoridated water.

-- The� CDC’s concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical not systemic.

-- CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children.

-- Major research indicating small difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.

-- A Harvard study indicating a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer.�

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a DC watchdog, revealed that a Harvard professor concealed the fluoridation/bone cancer connection for 3 years. EWG President Ken Cook states, “It is time for the US to recognize that fluoridation has serious risks that far outweigh any minor benefits, and unlike many other environmental issues, it's as simple to end as turning off a valve at the water plant.”