Newsletters > Summer 1998 > Name that Mystery Medication, by Leo Cashman

This is a fun quiz that will really teach you something. Name the following "mystery medication."

Clue #1 Although it is claimed to be of benefit only to small children, this medication is administered to people of all ages, even the elderly. It is probably the most commonly given medication in America.

Clue #2 Although it is swallowed, it is not usually given in pill or capsule form.

Clue #3 This medication is a dilute amount of a very toxic substance that has been used as a rat poison and an insecticide.

Clue #4 Citing side effects of bone fractures, bone cancers, genetic damage and damage to the brain, the union of federal scientists who work at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called to an end to the mass exposure of our population to this medication.

Clue #5 Many states in the United States mandatorily require the delivery of this medication through the drinking water. The benefit is supposed to be to the teeth of small children, but recent studies show that just the opposite appears to be true.

The medication is fluoride and the delivery system is our drinking water. The fluoride that is added to our drinking water is the toxic waste byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry. Recent studies published by brain scientists indicate that low doses of fluoride such as people are commonly getting causes negative behavioral impacts that can include hyperactivity and attention deficits (prenatal exposure, male rats) or lethargic, "couch potato" behavior (Younger and adult, females). The most recent study by brain researchers shows that fluoride can combine with another neurotoxic element, aluminum, and help it cross the brain blood barrier and cause brain abnormalities there, including the "amyloid plaques" which typify Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.

Why is this story being censored by the big media - it was named one of the Most Censored Stories of 1998 by Project Censored? One reason is that the fluoride polluters (aluminum, steel, brick, glass, computer chips industries even) want to maintain the positive spin that the American Dental Association (ADA) still brazenly puts out in spite of the overwhelming scientific evidence. But a lesser known reason is that Prozac, Paxil and most other neuro-psychic drugs use fluoride to boost the impact of the active ingredients. Fluoride is also found in general anesthetics. How many people have been damaged or died from their heavy exposure to this toxic element? Big medicine doesn't want you and me to start asking!

Look for Leo Cashman's story "Fluoride Confidential" in a recent issue of Pulse of the Twin Cities. For more information about Fluoride see recent issues of Earth Island Journal or look up the web site: www.inter-view.net/~sherrell

For more information about dental health issues contact: DAMS, Inc., 3236 17th Avenue So, #1, Minneapolis, MN 55407.