On August 9, 2007, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) released a statement against water fluoridation. The statement was signed by more than 600 professionals.

In the statement, the signers urged Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks.

The professions included physicians, dentists, scientists, and environmentalists. (http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html). Among the signers are a Nobel Prize winner, and three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride’s toxicology. The signers also include two officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters, and the President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment. Hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and environmental professionals, worldwide also signed.

Along with its press release, FAN posted personal quotes from some signers of the statement. (http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.quotes.aug.2007.pdf) One of the quotes is from Dr. Arvid Carlsson, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine. He stated, "Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It's really obsolete."

Paul Connett, PhD, Executive Director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), commented: "The NRC report dramatically changed scientific understanding of fluoride's health risks. Government officials who continue to promote fluoridation must testify under oath as to why they are ignoring the powerful evidence of harm in the NRC report."

An Assistant NY State Attorney General called the NRC report "the most up-to-date expert authority on the health effects of fluoride exposure." Among the evidence in the statement are the following:

• The CDC’s concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical and not systemic.
• CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children. (Fluorosis, caused by excessive intake of fluorides, is characterized in children by discoloration and pitting of the teeth. In adults, it is characterized by pathological bone changes.)
• Major research showing little difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
• A Harvard study pointing to a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer.
• The silicofluoride chemicals used for fluoridation are contaminated industrial waste and have never been FDA-approved for human ingestion.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a D.C. watchdog, disclosed that a Harvard professor concealed the fluoridation/bone cancer connection for three years. According to EWG President Ken Cook, "It is time for the US to recognize that fluoridation has serious risks that far outweigh any minor benefits, and unlike many other environmental issues, it's as easy to end as turning off a valve at the water plant."