After seeing these advertisements, Making Sense of Fluoride (MSOF) legal spokesperson, Christopher Atkinson contacted the ASA voicing his concern that they contained statements that were not factual and were likely to cause concern about the safety of community fluoridated water. Consequently, the ASA upheld Mr Atkinson’s complaints and ruled that the advertisements be removed.

MSoF warn the Kapiti Coast District Council that they are the latest Council to be targeted in a series of attacks from anti-fluoridation activists and urges the Council not take activists claims in face value.

Hamilton stopped fluoridating its water supply after pressure from anti fluoride activists in June last year. In A referendum was held, yet despite residents overwhelmingly voted for fluoridated water and the council backed down, reversing their decision.

It was only after the recent High Court case in Taranaki which affirmed the widely held view that community water fluoridation is a safe and effective public health measure and did not violate the Bill of Rights legislation, the Hamilton City Council voted to resume water fluoridation.

MSoF hope that Kapiti Coast District Council will not follow the Hamilton example and be pressured into decisions concerning public health by activists threatening legal action.

The online advocacy group Making Sense of Fluoride (MSoF) is a group of students, academics, medical professionals, and other concerned individuals advocating that this significant public health initiative be either introduced or maintained. It provides a forum to discuss all aspects surrounding this topic; fb.com/fluoridewater

The post Press release: Anti Fluoridation Advertisements Rejected by The Advertising Complaints Authority appeared first on Making Sense of Fluoride.

“to be financially prudent and conservative ahead of any decision, $100,000 has been added to the 2014/15 budget for both the operational costs ($50,000) of re-commencing fluoridation and anticipated legal costs.”

So operational costs are as before (about $48,000 per year) but $50,000 has been put aside for the anticipated legal costs.
These are costs which could be incurred because of Fluoride Free’s threatened legal action. Action which has no chance of success after the High Court judgement.
So we have the trouble makers complaining about the costs of their own troublemaking!

The post Trouble makers complaining about the costs of their own troublemaking appeared first on Making Sense of Fluoride.

The decision will remove any legal or judicial questions that may have concerned councils, allowing them to go ahead with water fluoridation. However, New Health New Zealand has announced that they will be appealing the decision.

The Making Sense of Fluoride group believes legal action taken by New Health New Zealand against fluoridation is a politically motivated campaign against evidence-based health and medicine. The group, created by the New Zealand Health Trust, is a lobbying group for alternative, natural health initiatives. Any successful appeal against fluoridation will be followed by similar attacks on science-based health policies opposed by the group such as vaccination, genetic engineering – even ‘chemtrails’ – a conspiracy theory that claims governments use commercial planes to spray toxic and mind controlling chemicals into the atmosphere.

The New Zealand Health Trust is a charitable trust that aims to promote ‘complementary health care products, devices, practices and services and general health research for prevention, diagnosis and treatment,’ using ‘media campaigns and promotions.’

Financial transactions for the trust show large amounts of money coming in – last year $200,000 in “grants” were spent on ‘legal and consultancy’ fees for their High Court case against fluoridation.

Making Sense of Fluoride questions how an industry lobby group is able to achieve charitable status and why it should be subsidised by taxpayers through its ‘charitable’ tax exemption.

Making Sense of Fluoride legal spokesperson, Christopher Atkinson, welcomes an investigation into the funding methods of such groups saying ‘local body councils should not be held to ransom by such groups with commercial and ideological agendas. They should not be bullied into ignoring the wishes of their citizens by such legal action,”

“MSoF believes parliament should enact legislation indemnifying councils and councillors, therefore protecting them from legal action and financial threats when important health policies like fluoridation are at issue.”

‘Fluoridation is well-founded scientifically. It is known to be safe and effective. It is very effective as a social health policy because it does not require individual action.’

The post Press release: Group Welcomes High Court Decision appeared first on Making Sense of Fluoride.