“P.s. to my original.
Might I ask Cllr Gant if there are any plans, proposed commitees, etc, under review to combat the Global Warming issue. This, surely, is worthy of council intervention?”

“Flouridisation is just one of many important issues that far too many councillors, MP's etc, think that, once again, they know best. Mainstream politicians at all levels deliberately lose sight of what they were ( barely) elected to do, i.e. represent the wishes of the electorate.
Pompous!!! Yes, this letter from one Cllr Gant does come over as pompous, but then, that is what happens to many when they feel that they have power, I have been witness to this attitude developing for many years, and increasing with the large income derived, and the grand titles attached.
I most certainly disagree that councils should be tackling obesity, as with flouridisation, this is a health issue, not another bandwagon to jump on, in order to facilitate some mini quango, with the mandatory portfolios. What councils should really be doing, is refraining from poking it's corporate noses into so many things that do not concern them, and addressing the ongoing waste of council tax that is so evident.
If the PCT and the Soutth Staffs Water * dictate * the amount of flouride in our water; would it not be a better way of representing the populace by fighting this dictatorial stance, or does Cllr Gant and his entourage simply lie down and put their feet in the air, because a large water authority tells it what, or what not to do.
I feel, and have felt for many years, that people like Cllr Gant, are in the business of lookingg after number one, and rocking the boat ( In this instance, the good living) is not an expression that fits them. This attitude is why the town has lost much of it's identity and vibrancy over a number of years, and the continuous building on green land has turned it into one great sprawl.”

“For some of us the damage has already been done, but for the sake of the generations to come, I say this enforced 'fluoridation' policy should be stopped. If people want to ingest fluoride products by all means let them do so, but it is wrong that we are all being forced, by the dictat of the health authorities to do so. This is not a radical view, but based on research I have carried out over a long period. However I expect I too will be told I am misinformed.

As CllrChris says in his comment this could be causing problems in our children.

I have read the evidence, as anyone can if they care to look it up, that confirms that in certain studies it has been found that fluoride can produce detrimental biochemical and functional changes in the developing human brain. Exposure may commence with fluoride in the maternal blood passing through the placenta to the foetus and continuing during childhood from fluoride in food and drinking water. In turn, the studies show that intelligence is inversely related to the level of fluoride in drinking water. No confounding factors, such as population size or differences in social, educational, or economic background explained the changes.

The studies suggest that a real relationship exists between fluoride exposure and intelligence. In certain areas it has been found that high fluoride levels have been associated with hypothyroidism (under active thyroid). Which CllrChris also mentions in his comment.

If Councillor Gant could just read one study on this he may realise that we are not 'misinformed'.

If I am offered a medicine to treat a medical condition, then forced to take it against my will, it is an assault. If I am given a known poison, or administered a noxious substance without my agreement of approval, again it is a serious criminal offence, and yet I can be forcibly medicated with 'fluoride' because an unelected authority says so. Where is the democracy in that!

Oscar One Three, Tamworth.”

“Oscar One Three, I can see you have done your research.

In his letter Cllr Gant seems to make a pompous buffoon of himself.

First, nobody claimed fluoride leads to mental "instability" - it does not (well, not as far as I am aware). But if he cared to allow his committee to do a proper scrutiny he would find studies from the last 100 years showing fluoride effects on mental retardation - which is not the same thing. Fluoride also appears to reduce personal responsibility behaviour especially in children (ADHD or Aspergers is the name they might often give this one) but that's not mental "instability" either. So Cllr Gant even put the wrong question.

Second, surely he is aware that for every professor he can find to say fluoride is "safe and effective" there are dozens and dozens of other professors from all over the world to say fluoride is a poison that should never be allowed anywhere near our drinking water. Cllr Gant says I'm "misinformed". It would be interesting to know just why he thinks that it is I, and not himself, that has been so woefully misinformed.

Thirdly, if Cllr Gant really does feel his Committee's efforts should be "directed towards obesity" then I can help him. He should know that fluoride disrupts and even shuts down the thyroid gland by dispacing the iodine in it. This gland is critical in body metabolism maintaining normal body weight. This has also been known about for a hundred years - and indeed fluoride tablets were regularly used to reduce over-active thyroids up until the 1950s (when it was realised the dose could not be easily controlled, and some people's thyroids shut down, so they used the product as a pesticide instead!). In fluoride we have a clear candidate to explain the obesity epidemic, not only here in Tamworth but also in the West Midlands, and indeed in America. In fact wherever this industrial waste grade "fluoride" is put in the water.

Fourthly, Cllr Gant's comment that it was "unthinkable" that MPs would not vote in the best interests of the people shows a misplaced but touching faith in our MPs. If they always voted sensibly we wouldn't be saddled with the debts, wars and the EU related idiocy this country currently suffers from.

In fact Cllr Gant's letter so clearly demonstrates his lack of a grasp on reality, is so prejudiced (as Oscar One Three also observed), and is so similar to his behaviour in council in preventing scrutiny of fluoride, that he has harmed the credibility of his committee. He should resign.”

“I get the impression from Councillor Gants letter that he is not prepared to listen to the concerns of others in relation to the 'fluoridation' of our water supply. As Chairman of the Community/Well Being Committee I feel he should not appear biased either way.

Quite a lot of people, including myself, are worried about this. I have suffered, and continue to suffer, some of the symptoms which many studies have shown can be caused by the ingestion of too much 'fluoride'. That is, the addition of Sodium Fluoride, which was used in the early fluoridation schemes, and can be used as a rat poison, and latterly the addition of Fluorosilicilic Acid, to our water. When too much is ingested it does become a 'poison'.

I don't know how much research, and what knowledge Councillor Gant has on this subject, but as an elected representative of the people of Tamworth he should at least listen to the arguments against.

Having researched this myself I have come to the conclusion that this substance, which can be 'poisonous' if an excess is ingested, should not, as a matter of course, be put into our water supply. There is naturally occurring 'fluoride' and other chemicals in the water anyway. There are other ways that teeth can be protected by applying 'fluoride' as a topical application to the teeth and than spitting it out. That way it would not be forced upon us. We would have a choice.

Councillor Gant says he has spoken to 'experts' in the form of two Professors, and has been informed that it is not true that this substance causes mental instability. He does not say what the qualifications or the history of the two consultants are, but one of the names is the same as the Chair of the British Fluoridation Society, who obviously has strong views 'for' fluoridation.

I don't think that anyone was inferring that the only symptoms were mental instability. What I and many others have said is that it has many effects on the human body, including various neurological conditions, which can result in the onset of Alzheimers syndrome.

Councillor Gant does not feel that Parliament would have voted for a law that would poison us. After recent events I do not have his faith. I have read the debates on the matter in Hansard. In fact they were so sure it was safe that the Treasury have to indemnify the water authorities against claims made against them as a result of damage to health.

The fact is that for every 'expert' who supports fluoridation you can find three that think the opposite.

As far as obesity is concerned a few months back it was my own home town of Wolverhampton that was top of the obesity league. Next week it will be somewhere else. At least the people referred to in these league tables are not force fed. They are free to do as they please, and we should not feel guilty about it. The Heralds opinion column of this week sums it up.

Councillor Gants remit is to listen to the arguments FOR and AGAINST, and in consultation with his committee formulate a local policy recommendation to the local health authority.

Oscar One Three, Tamworth.”