Anti-fluoride petition seeks to stop treatment in Townsville’s water supply

An anti-fluoride petition wants Townsville City Council to stop using fluoride in the city’s water supply, claiming it’s toxic and lowers kids’ IQs, as comments from Mayor Troy Thompson resurface around potentially scrapping it. HAVE YOUR SAY

An e-petition has been created urging the Townsville City Council to stop its water fluoridation treatment, or to at least justify why it would continue it.

An anti-fluoride petition is pressuring Townsville City Council to stop using fluoride in the city’s water supply, claiming it’s toxic and lowers kids’ IQs, as comments from Mayor Troy Thompson resurface around potentially scrapping it.

This is despite health practitioners firmly advocating for fluoride as a benefit to oral health with no negative impacts considering the amount being used in water supply.

In September Gympie Regional Council voted to contradict its officers’ recommendations and scrapped water fluoridation after an e-petition with links to right wing conspiracy group My Place managed to raise more than 600 signatures.

Townsville councillors said constituents had been giving them information about the issue, but had yet to receive evidence that could get them to change their mind on the benefits of water fluoridation for the city.

Before he was sworn in as mayor, Mayor Troy Thompson raised potentially “scrapping” the fluoridation of Townsville’s water as a cost-cutting measure.

Mayor Troy Thompson said before he was elected that he would talk about “scrapping” fluoridation. This week he would not confirm his position on the subject. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“Everything is on the table and everything has to be discussed,” Mr Thompson told Southern Cross Austereo’s Archie Milligan.

“As you said, you’ve spoken to one dentist, but there are millions of them, there’s a lot of specialists, there’s a lot of studies in the system and we’ve got to get around that.”

Mr Thompson regularly attends meetings of right-wing conspiracy group My Place Townsville, which openly advocates against Australian councils fluoridating their water supply.

The mayor, who is currently being investigated by the Crime and Corruption Commission and whose performance is the subject of new premier David Crisafulli’s legal advisors, did not answer questions from the Bulletin sent on Thursday regarding the e-petition and his personal views on fluoride.

Health practitioners are firm about the benefits of fluoride, but the main petitioner, Owen Williams from Wulguru, rejects such health advice by claiming the scientific evidence in favour of water fluoridation was “very uncertain” and that new evidence labelled it a neurotoxin.

He also claimed fluoride added to drinking water “lowers IQ in children” and was harmful to their “neurodevelopment and cognition”.

Mr Williams’ petition so far as more than 50 signatures, with most of them from the Townsville area.

He said if fluoride was necessary, then it could be used in a more focused approach like “subsidised annual fluoride treatments at local dentists”.

“Otherwise, a reduction in our land rates or water charges could be another possible consideration if water fluoridation expenses were no longer a part of the council budget,” he wrote in his submission.

Division 3 councillor Ann-Maree Greaney described herself as a “fluoride baby” who had grown up drinking it.

Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney described herself as a “fluoride baby”. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me, and I very rarely have to go to the dentist for any work,” Ms Greaney said.

“I have a 20-year-old son studying dentistry at James Cook University and he’s never once brought up the issue of fluoride with me.

“So I am supportive of keeping fluoride in the water.”

Division 8 councillor Andrew Robinson said the benefits of water fluoridation outweighed the costs to the ratepayer.

“When I initially had people saying ‘oh you know, fluoride in water etc’ my question was how much is the fluoride actually costing us?” Mr Robinson said.

“The information I had been given was circa $300,000 (a year) so it’s not like it’s millions and millions of dollars that we’re pouring there and the like.

“For the health of people $300,000 is not a significant amount.”

Mr Robinson said the council followed the Australian Medical Association recommendation that fluoride was beneficial.

Division 5 councillor Vera Dirou said she received emails from constituents referencing fluoride in the water, quoting American-based studies, which she considered “still highly dubious”.

Ms Dirou said she was ‘not a scientist’ but that she had not seen any Australian studies that said fluoride was bad.

Councillor Vera Dirou said she had yet to receive Australian studies discrediting the benefits of fluoridation, but that she was open to receiving such evidence from the community. Picture: Shae Beplate.

But she said she was open minded and willing to learn more about the subject.

“I’m happy to look at any evidence, because that’s what our job is, to look at the evidence, look at the situation and make a determination,” Ms Dirou said.

“And all we’re interested in, all I’m interested in, is the welfare of our community.”

Professor John Abbott, the director of clinical dentistry at James Cook University, said removing fluoride from Townsville’s water supply would be a “really big mistake”.

“We know, the research shows that caries (decaying, crumbling teeth) children and adults experience are significantly lower with fluoride in the water supply,” he said.

“It you remove it you are going to change the oral health of people.”

Prof Abbott said he could tell if a person had been born outside Cairns in a city with fluoridation due to the state of their teeth.

“I can say, ‘I know you weren’t born in Cairns, you’ve got a perfect set of teeth’ because of fluoridation of the water supply but in Cairns, we have some of the worst cases of dental decay.”

He said it should not be a decision for local councils.

“The local state councils are not medical institutions; they don’t have the knowledge to actually make those decisions, that’s why you have universities and professional bodies,” he said.

“The overwhelming voice in dentistry is fluoride is one of the best public health measures we’ve ever had.”

Prof Abbott also took issue with Mr Thompson’s stated view that Townsville water was “just simply too chlorinated”.

“Just imagine how many sick people we would have with all sorts of stomach bugs, I just can’t believe it,” Prof Abbott said.

The Australian government’s National Health and Medical Research Council states that there is “consistent and reliable evidence that community water fluoridation helps to reduce tooth decay”.

It notes that the stance is supported by a multitude of national and international health research agencies and government bodies, including all Australian state government health agencies, the Australian Dental Association and World Health Organisation.

Queensland lags behind other Australian states in the fluoridation of drinking water, including in Cairns.

Originally published as Anti-fluoride petition seeks to stop treatment in Townsville’s water supply