Fluoridation: A Violation of Medical Ethics and Human Rights

Abstract

Silicofluorides, widely used in water fluoridation, are unlicensed medicinal substances, administered to large populations without informed consent or supervision by a qualified medical practitioner. Fluoridation fails the test of reliability and specificity, and, lacking toxicity testing of silicofluorides, constitutes unlawful medical research. It is banned in most of Europe; European Union human rights legislation makes it illegal. Silicofluorides have never been submitted to the U.S. FDA for approval as medicines. The ethical validity of fluoridation policy does not stand up to scrutiny relative to the Nuremberg Code and other codes of medical ethics, including the Council of Europe's Biomedical Convention of 1999. The police power of the State has been used in the United States to override health concerns, with the support of the courts, which have given deference to health authorities.

Revisiting the ethical framework governing water fluoridation and food fortification

“…34 Their argument starts with the fact that the Nuremberg Code (and all successive ethics codes derived from it) prescribes that research and routine medical procedures must be done with the voluntary cooperation of the subjects, who must be fully informed of the risks and benefits of the medical procedures in which they are involved. 34 From this, they establish that fluoride is a medicine according to definitions from European and American pharmaceutical codes (generally defining medical substances as products used for treating or preventing disease in humans or animals) and further point out that as it currently stands, because the consumer is not fully informed, water fluoridation fails to comply with the Nuremberg code and is thus unethical. This argument does tap into the problem of deception in water fluoridation as passive consumption prevents the consumer from being fully informed of the [procedure's] risks and benefits.…”

The untold story of fluoridation: Revisiting the changing perspectives

“…It is a violation of human rights, a direct violation of the Nuremberg code that states that research or even routine medical procedures must be done with the voluntary cooperation of the subjects who must be fully informed of the risks or benefits of the procedure in which they are involved. [ 9 ]…”

“…[ 7 8 ] Those opposed argue that water fluoridation has no or little cariostatic benefits, may cause serious health problems, is not effective enough to justify the costs, and is pharmacologically obsolete. [ 9 ]…”

El dilema ético de la fluoración del agua potable

“…Esto implica considerar a la comunidad como un grupo de probandos, quienes a través de un consentimiento informado deberían ser notificados individualmente sobre los riesgos y beneficios de la intervención, así como del carácter voluntario de su participación y de su derecho a abandonarla cuando lo consideren necesario, sin perjuicio alguno. Además, los autores plantean que la fluoración del agua potable constituye también un acto de medicación masiva de la comunidad, lo que violaría los derechos humanos fundamentales que establecen la obligación de proteger a los individuos de ser sometidos a intervenciones médicas sin su consentimiento 15 .…”

“…Otra forma de analizar la fluoración del agua potable es señalando que los compuestos fluorados que se incorporan para corregir la concentración son sustancias químicas con riesgos desconocidos que se agregan al agua de consumo humano. Esta postura incluye cuestionamientos sobre la composición y el origen de los compuestos fluorados utilizados, planteando que al no estar aprobados por las instituciones que velan por la seguridad de los alimentos y drogas de consumo humano, su inocuidad para la salud no estaría asegurada 15 . Además, existe preocupación por las dosis utilizadas y la poca estabilidad de las concentraciones en el agua a lo largo del tiempo, ya que hay evidencia de efectos tóxicos de altas dosis de fluoruros en el tejido cerebral y reproductor de ratas 18 .…”