Collier to end fluoridation of drinking water
Experts say decision puts low-income kids at risk
After three hours of public testimony on the merits and harms of fluoride being added to the county’s drinking water, the Collier County Commission voted unanimously to end the practice.
Tuesday’s decision was largely based on the county’s Health Freedom Bill of Rights ordinance adopted last year to safeguard the healthcare freedoms of residents and not impose medical treatment without their consent.
Commissioner Dan Kowal put the issue on the agenda after some people brought it to his attention and what he found in his own research.
“So in reality, as we sit here today, we are in violation of our own law,” Kowal said.
Since 1985, the county has added fluoride to its drinking water; the decision to end that practice does not affect Marco Island, Everglades City, or Naples or people on private wells.
Commissioners heard from dozens of residents, with many citing fluoride harms and research of it causing brain damage, lowering the IQ of children, leading to thyroid problems and other medical conditions. They said fluoride is toxic industrial waste that has been forced on Americans for decades in drinking water.
Supporters within the medical and dental community said fluoride in drinking water helps protect against tooth decay, and is especially needed for children from low income families in the community.
They said low-income children face waits getting treated at the NCEF Pediatric Dental Center, which was established years ago through the founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. Removing fluoride will worsen childrens’ tooth decay and wait times for care, they say.
In the end, commissioners agreed to brainstorm with the dental community, the Collier County School District, the
Healthcare Network and others who want to help educate families about good oral health practices.
Commissioner Burt Saunders said it was almost “impossible for him to know the right or wrong answer.”
He wanted the board to wait two weeks so they could do their own research on the side effects of fluoride.
“I tend to err on the side of caution,” Saunders said. “I’m semi convinced fluoride in water can cause some problems.”
His request for a two-week delay wasn’t supported by the rest of the board; Commission Chairman Chris Hall said the issue and decision is “all about health freedom.”
What did the community say?
The commission had 48 speakers signed up to speak but many donated their allotted three minutes to others. Resident Beth Sherman, who was involved in passage of last year’s health freedom ordinance, read a resolution voted on by the Collier County Republican executive committee in support of stopping the fluoridation program.
She said citizens have the right to clean water, that adding fluoride is an infringement that no residents have an option to opt out from, and that fluoride is readily available over the counter for anyone who wants to use it.
John Meo, chairman of the executive committee of the Collier GOP, said the board has no choice but to comply with terms of the health freedom ordinance.
“It is really incumbent upon you to comply with what is the law in Collier County,” he said.
Dr. George Yiachos, a board-certified cardiologist, said cardiovascular disease is No. 1 killer in the world but he pointed out that statins that lower cholesterol are not added to drinking water.
Yiachos said 72 studies have confirmed fluoride reduces the IQ of children and he said adding it in the water without informed consent is irresponsible. Alfie Oakes, owner of Oakes Farms and committeeman to the Collier GOP who holds considerable sway over the local party, spoke about growing up and how his father, Frank Oakes, spent $900 on a reverse osmosis system so the family would not be exposed to fluoride.
“He was way ahead of the curve on a lot of things,” Oakes said.
Oakes said adding fluoride to the drinking water is “intended to dumb us down” and keep control of the people in this country.
“We don’t trust the white coats anymore,” Oakes said. “It is time for us to be responsible.”
In 2016 the Collier board considered ending its fluoridation program but it did not pass.
Dr. Lauren Governale, pediatric dentist with the NCEF Pediatric Dental Center, spoke about how the nonprofit Naples Children and Education Foundation, sponsors of the annual wine festival, has spent millions to help low-income children in the community with their tooth decay.
Many of the children face waits for care, where surgery is often needed, and removing fluoride from will lead to more children on wait lists.
The American Dental Association and 70 years of research supports the use of fluoride as a cost effective to help prevent tooth decay.
April Donahue, executive director of the Collier County Medical Society, read a statement on behalf of directors to vote ‘no’ on removing fluoride from the drinking water.
She cited the Florida Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Nurses Association and Department of Defense in support of fluoridation.
“Community water fluoridation provides a critical benefit, especially to those without access to regular dental care, by simply drinking community water. Unlike many other first-world countries, like in Europe, who cover the costs of dental care, the U.S. does not,” she said.