Friday, September 20, 2013

Hundreds to Rally Against Water Fluoridation at Toronto City Hall

Hundreds of Toronto residents plan to peacefully assemble at City Hall this Saturday, September 21st, 2013 to end water fluoridation in Toronto, Canada. So far over 400 people have confirmed their attendance on the Facebook page and over 1,000 have signed the online petition.


Toronto has been fluoridating its water supply for 50 years, and currently uses hydrofluorosilicic acid, a toxic waste byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production, to do so. Contaminated with arsenic, mercury and radionuclides, this chemical has been shown to cause leaching of lead from pipes into the water supply.
Over the past two decades, an expanding body of research has linked exposure to artificially fluoridated water with serious health problems including: cancer, thyroid dysfunction, skeletal and dental fluorosis, and cognitive impairment. Furthermore, recent peer-reviewed research demonstrates that exposure to fluoridated water may significantly lower IQ in children, even in low concentrations (Choi, Sun, Zhang & Grandjean, 2012; Ding et al., 2011).

Internationally, very few countries fluoridate their water and the practice is being increasingly abandoned. Israel’s Supreme Court recently ruled that it will halt their 15 year mandatory fluoridation program and ban it entirely by April, 2014. Israel’s health minister Yael German cited health concerns, and in a letter to doctors opposed to ending fluoridation wrote, “It must be known to you that fluoridation can cause harm to the health of the chronically ill”, including, “people who suffer from thyroid problems.”

Since 2010, 128 communities, including many in North America, have rejected water fluoridation. Calgary Alberta, Albuquerque New Mexico, and Windsor Ontario recently ended their longstanding fluoridation programs, while Portland Oregon and Wichita Kansas refused to adopt the practice. In 2011, Toronto City Council considered halting water fluoridation due to budget cuts, but ultimately voted in favor of keeping it.
This Saturday citizens of Toronto will peacefully assemble at City Hall in the hopes of making the most populated city in Canada the next to halt water fluoridation. Together they will send a peaceful and powerful message: they do not want this unnecessary and harmful chemical added to their community water supply any longer.

Visit the campaign website at www.endfluoridetoronto.com

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