Campaigners step up efforts to end water fluoridation in Cumbria
Campaigners are stepping up efforts to end water fluoridation in Cumbria.
Fluoride Free Cumbria is urging the local council to put a stop to water fluoridation. Members of the group claim that adding fluoride to water supplies poses health risks for local residents. Fluoride has been added to water in West Cumbria for more than 50 years.
Chair of the campaign group, Paul Carr, said that campaigners have been working tirelessly to stop water fluoridation at a new Willimsgate plant and have forced the issue onto the agenda of the next meeting of the county council’s health scrutiny committee.
County councils have the power to decide whether or not to provide access to water fluoridation schemes. Mr Carr is preparing to meet with Mark Jenkinson, the MP for Workington, in the coming weeks.
FFC member, Dianne Standen, said that she is eager to highlight the dangers of water fluoridation after her daughter developed fluorosis as a child. Ms Standen criticised the Prime Minister for suggesting that fluoride is “safe and effective” and claimed that there are scientific studies that dispute his claims.
Water fluoridation is widely supported by public health experts and dental bodies as an effective means of reducing the risk of tooth decay, particularly among children in deprived communities. Councils currently have the ability to decide whether or not to provide access to fluoridated water.
A spokesperson for United Utilities confirmed that fluoride has been added to the water supplies in the area since 1968 and added that this action is taken in line with instructions from local authorities.
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