General News
3 October, 2024
Pro-fluoride move cranks up
THE Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is backing a campaign to have fluoride added to Cairns’ water supply.
In a letter to the council, four members – oral health special interest group co-convenor Dr Tan Nguyen, primary health care special interest group co-convenor Dr Shalomie Shadrach, Dr Sneha Sethi and Dr Mary O’Loughlin – are urging councillors to reintroduce fluoride.
“We understand that the Cairns Regional Council had agreed to cease water fluoridation from 2013, which had provided important public health benefits, specifically, the prevention of tooth decay,” they said.
“Global public health experts, including the World Health Organisation, support optimal levels of environmental exposure to fluoride, which includes community water fluoridation.
“It is also acknowledged as a public health measure in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 6 2011 (Version 3.8 Updated September 2022), which is regulated by all Australian state and territory health departments.
“In 2024, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention re-iterated the safety and benefits of community water fluoridation as an effective, cost-efficient method for preventing tooth decay and improving overall oral health.
“This remains consistent with the Australian Government’s National Oral Health Plan 2015-2024 and the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Public Statement 2017: Water Fluoridation and Human Health in Australia.
“Given the strong and consistent scientific evidence, we urge the Cairns Regional Council to re-instate community water fluoridation as a matter of priority for population oral health.”
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service chief executive officer Leena Singh has offered an information session to the council about fluoride.
“I note your desire for Cairns Regional Council to act on the reintroduction of water fluoridation and can confirm that I have offered to provide an information session for councillors on the benefits of fluoridation of the water supply,” she said in a letter to fluoride campaigner Nick Adsett.
The council included a question about fluoride in the 2024 Our Cairns survey with a report due in November.
Mayor Amy Eden said the views of Queensland public health officer would guide her decision on adding fluoride to the region’s water supply.
