We won’t drink Poison! - "The Cairns Post"

Front Page of the Cairns Post, 23.12.09. This should send a powerful message to Bligh and Co, but ignoring messages is one of their trademarks. They have stirred up a hornet’s nest in Cairns and the people of Queensland are finally waking up, a bit late, but nevertheless they are starting to realize what is being done to them by this government. - Werner - Click on picture to enlarge!

Christmas rush on water filters for fluoride.

By Daniel Bateman, batemand@tcp.newsltd.com.au

CAIRNS residents are giving each other water filters as Christmas presents in a rush before the Far North's water supply is permanently fluoridated.

Shopkeepers say they have been rushed off their feet with sales of filters to residents concerned about the effects fluoridated water may have upon their health.

An average ceramic water filter has been selling for about $345, while reverse osmosis systems retail for $800, and distilling units about $390.

Owner of Cairns Business Enviromart Australia, Di Creasey, said 95 % of her water filter stock was being sold before it hit the shelves. We have been selling pallet loads every two to three days for the last three weeks before they hit the shelves, Mrs. Creasey said. “People have been coming in and buying them as Christmas presents.”

Fluoride will be permanently added to the Far North water supply by December 31.

Cairns Regional Council started pumping fluoride into the Tunnel Hill Water Treatment Plant, near Copperlode Dam, on Monday night.

Mrs. Creasey said, many of her customers felt the State Government’s mandate to fluoridate the Far North’s water was undemocratic.

“During the last state election, Anna Bligh really avoided the subject of fluoride,” she said. When she was voted back in, she thanked Queensland for giving her the go ahead for putting fluoride into the water supply "Yet most people feel that they have been ordered to have fluoride in their water without any choice in the matter."

McCracken's Water Services branch manager Jason Stefano said water filters had been "flying out the door". "We've been fielding about 20 calls a day and about 10 people a day coming in about it," Mr. Stefano said.

"It's out of control, to be honest. Fluoride is definitely a huge topic in Cairns." Mr. Stefano urged buyers to do their research before investing in a water filter to ensure it actually filtered out the right chemicals.

Whitfield resident Emma Thirkell, who bought a ceramic water filter last week, said she was concerned about the effects fluoride could have upon her young children. "I believe that if government creates policy that causes people to suffer, and there are people who have very high sensitivity to fluoride in our community, that they are duly compensated for the suffering," Ms Thirkell said.

"If people are forced to suffer and there is a conscientious objector, I think the Government should be giving out these water filters for free."

Queenslanders for Safe Water, Air and Food co-coordinator Bill Kilvert, said the high rate of water filter sales was indicative of widespread community concern about the fluoride issue. He said the organization would fight to have fluoride removed from the water supply, even after December 31.

"There are a hell of lot of people who are opposed to fluoride who know that it is bad for everybody, especially children," Mr Kilvert said. "They are trying to overcome this problem."

* * * * * *

Also in today’s Cairns Post. “The editor’s pick” of the letter to the editor by Vince Margiotta, a member of our Cairns anti fluoride group. Good one Vince. - Werner

Fluoride may not be your cup of tea.

PROFESSOR Colin Rix's analogy of fluoride being concentrated in tea in a non-toxic form (19-12-09) is an interesting one and it appears as though he forgot to mention that the effects of fluoride are cumulative.

Even the kind of dosage tea provides is still potentially harmful to the system after a long period of copious ingestion.

But, of course, we are encouraged to drink at least two to three litres of water a day, not tea. On average, only about half the fluoride we ingest each day is said to be excreted through the kidneys.

Ten years ago, UNICEF reported that they could not agree on a single "optimal" level of daily fluoride intake. This is because the nutritional status of individuals varies greatly and, therefore, influences the rate at which fluoride is absorbed by the body.

And, as Mark Diesendorf stated, there are cases of people who are hypersensitive to fluoride.

But whatever the safety or otherwise of even two to three daily cups of tea, the key issue here is one of choice. A person can choose to consume tea or not.

It's harder to argue the same merit with fluoridated municipal water supplies, unless one has invested in filtering equipment such as reverse osmosis or distillation.

This makes opting out an expensive and unnecessary exercise. The merits of long-term ingestion of fluoride in municipal doses appear questionable.

There is far more freedom of choice in opting out of fluoridated toothpaste or tea than there is in opting out of fluoridated town water.