I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for the courtesy extended to me, and I thank the Minister of State also.
I am raising the matter of the inconsistencies between our recommendations for a national infant feeding policy, that is, the Food Safety Authority's guidelines published in 1999, and the British Medical Association's New Guide to Medicines and Drugs on the use of fluoridated water in infant formula. The Minister of State will be aware that I know there is currently a forum on fluoridation, and I trust he will not tell me all about that. He can take that as given in his reply. I welcome him and thank him for coming into the House this evening.
I want to concentrate specifically on the use of fluoridated tap water in mixing formula for bottle-fed infants and the inconsistencies in the recommendations on fluoride intake between the Irish and the British authorities – indeed between the Irish authorities and virtually the rest of the developed world which has published a recommendation. That includes the United States, New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere. I am extremely concerned that a publication dated 1999 should appear to be so out of step with what is recommended by serious medical authorities and medical commentators throughout the world.
I respect the professionalism of our Food Safety Authority. I am a great admirer of its work, with this exception. Perhaps the Minister of State can explain the reason we are out of step and why we are putting at risk the health of our new-born infants and those up to two years who are drinking formula and could be taking in over the recommended daily dose of fluoride in their milk.
The Minister of State is a doctor. I am a graduate in biochemistry. I am no expert in this area but at least we understand the language. We know what we are talking about. It makes it easy for us to understand the literature and to follow the debate. In that spirit, I hope the Minister will be able to respond to what I say with a willingness to grasp the problem rather than postpone it to some later date.
The British Medical Association guideline states that 0.15 milligrams of fluoride is a safe daily intake for children under three months, and about 0.5 milligrams for children up to two years. A new-born baby will drink about 20 fluid ounces of milk a day – about a pint – and if the parent is using formula baby feed with fluoridated water, in other words, Irish tap water, one pint of milk made with our tap water is equivalent to approximately 0.55 litres. In fluoridated areas, there is a milligram of fluoride in every litre of water drunk.
One does not have to have honours mathematics in the leaving certificate to work out that new-born infants here will receive over 0.5 milligrams of fluoride in their daily feed. That is over three times the limit set by the BMA. I am extremely concerned that that would be their first introduction to life. Formula milk is second best to breast milk but there are occasions when formula milk must be the choice of the parent. It is a matter of major concern that parents, following the advice of our Food Safety Authority, could inadvertently be feeding milk to their new-borns, and indeed those children up to the age of two years, which has three times over the fluoride limit set by the British Medical Association and other international authorities. A three month old child weighing about 14 lbs. would drink about 1.75 pints of milk and, therefore, would receive 0.875 milligrams of fluoride a day, six times above the internationally accepted safety limit.
I ask the Minister of State not to tell me to wait for the forum to deliberate on this matter. Our infants cannot wait. As the shadow rapporteur in the European Parliament on the forthcoming directive on the precautionary principle, I draw the Minister's attention to the correct use of this environmental principle. It allows Governments to interfere or to take a political stance on scientific matters. That is what it means in this context. In other words, where there is strong prima facie evidence, where there is scientific evidence but some contradiction among scientists or where there is a strong concern based solidly not just on a whim or some fashion, the precautionary principle should be invoked and we should recommend that infant formula should not be reconstituted with fluoridated water. That is what I am asking the Minister of State to take on board.
I respect the professionalism of those in the forum, but there is a view that there is a pro-fluoride bias within the forum. I do not know, but that is a strongly held view by those who are carefully watching this debate. I was concerned recently when the head public analyst insisted that the fluoridating agent in our public water supplies, Hf8>2SiFf8>6, hydroflurosilicic acid, was pure. We are putting 2,000 gallons per day of this acid imported from Holland, where they have long since abandoned fluoridation of the public water supplies, into our public water supply, and it is contaminated. According to documents received and researched under the Freedom of Information Act, over 25% of this product has been shown to have serious contaminants such as arsenic, lead, antimony and phosphorous pentoxide which, as the Minister knows, contains uranium 238.
Seventy-three per cent of Ireland has fluoridation coverage. Europe said "No" to fluoridation a long time ago. Ninety-eight per cent of Europe is not fluoridated. Scientists in the European Union are on par with our scientists. At least where our infants are concerned, who have no power of choice and cannot say "No", I ask the Minister of State immediately to issue a directive that we will not use fluoridated water for infant formula pending the outcome of the forum on fluoridation. We should use the precautionary principle for the sake of the health of our infants.
The statistics and the recommended doses are available. International statistical evidence has shown that there is no difference in the level of tooth decay between fluoridated and non-flouridated communities. Studies on over 400,000 children from America, New Zealand, Japan and Norway have seriously questioned the efficacy of artificially adding fluoride to drinking water.
The Minister of State will know of other questions regarding damage to health which will be examined by the Forum on Fluoridation. These issues include the link between water fluoridation and cancer, gastro-intestinal changes, hip fractures and decreased fertility. The jury may be out on these issues, but it cannot be out regarding neonates and infants under two years of age and the reconstitution of infant formula using fluoridated tap water. It cannot be that 98% of Europe is wrong.
If we are right in arguing that the fluoridation of water is justified on the basis of dental health and the prevention of caries, particularly in children, why are we not top of the dental health list in Europe? We are only sixth on that list and four of the five countries above us do not fluoridate their water. There is only 10% fluoridation of water in the UK. We should be top of this list if the facts regarding continued fluoridation stood up.
As a doctor, and on the basis of the proper use – not abuse – of the precautionary principle, the Minister of State should issue a directive to the effect that fluoridated tap water should no longer be used in the reconstitution of infant formula.
