United Kingdom
Government Reports ETC.
2024 – February 21. Something in the water: opening the public health law policy window for fluoridation? By Keith Syrett. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 74(4):664-688. Winter 2023. Published February 21, 2024. See pdf at http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/syrett-2024.pdf
2024 – January 8. The Lotus Study in England.
How effective and cost-effective is water fluoridation for adults and adolescents? The LOTUS 10-year retrospective cohort study. By Moore D, Nyakutsikwa B, Allen T, Lam E, Birch S, Tickle M, Pretty IA, Walsh T. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.
EXCERPT:
“… Our results support the hypothesis that water fluoridation appears to be producing less dramatic impacts on oral health in contemporary UK populations than in historical studies. This finding is echoed by the recently published NIHR CATFISH prospective cohort study in UK children.13 … in high income countries, we may be reaching the limit of what can be achieved through fluorides alone. A dose–response relationship between free-sugars and dental caries is evident at all levels of intake above zero and fluorides merely attenuate this relationship.6 Average consumption of free sugars in the UK is more than double the recommended level for adolescents, and is almost double for adults.47 The discovery of water fluoridation made an unparalleled contribution to oral health in the 20st century. In the 21st century, greater impact may be achieved by advocating for upstream, policy level action to address the commercial determinants of health and create supportive food environments.48″
2023 – June. Letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Authors: Emeritus Professor C. Vyvyan Howard. MB. ChB. PhD. FRCPath. & Professor Paul Connett MA. PhD.
2022 – November. The Catfish Study in Cumbria:
• Evaluation of water fluoridation scheme in Cumbria: the CATFISH prospective longitudinal cohort study. Authors: Goodwin M, Emsley R, Kelly MP, Sutton M, Tickle M, Walsh T, Whittaker W, Pretty IA. Public Health Research.
• Plain English Summary of study
• Official press release followed by a number of news articles on the study starting in 2008
• Also see: The 2016: CATFISH study protocol: an evaluation of a water fluoridation scheme. Authors: Goodwin M, Emsley R, Kelly M, Rooney E, Sutton M, Tickle M, Wagstaff R, Walsh T, Whittaker W, Pretty IA. BMC Oral Health.
2022 – August 31. Water fluoridation – is it good or bad? by Barry Cockcroft BDS, Dentistry.
Note:
• Currently Dr Cockcroft is chair of the British Fluoridation Society.
• In 2002, he was Deputy Chief Dental Officer (England)
• In July 2006 he was appointed to Chief Dental Officer
• In 2006 he joined the British Fluoridation Society.
• In 2010 he was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours.
• In 2015, after leaving the post at the Dept of Health, Dr Cockcroft became a non-executive director at UK corporate dental provider ‘MyDentist’, one of the largest providers of NHS and private dentistry in the country. Reference.
2022 – August 12. Editorial: Water fluoridation in Scotland? By Colwyn Jones BDS. British Dental Journal 233:167.
Note:
Colwyn Jones is Consultant in Dental Public Health and Head of the Evidence for Action Team, NHS Health Scotland. Honorary Senior Lecturer University of Edinburgh and University of Dundee. Associate Editor of the journal Community Dental Health. He is also the dental adviser to the Falklands Island Government. (Reference)
2022 – June 3. FAN’s Submission to the Department of Health & Social Care consultation for community water fluoridation (CWF).
2022 – April 8: England. Open consultation Water fluoridation: seeking views on future consultation process. By the U.K. Department of Health & Social Care. Original online here.
2022 – April 6. BBC News: Fluoride in water in Scotland would save NHS a fortune, says dental expert.
2022 – April 6. BBC Bitesize: Fluoridation definition.
2022 – March 21: Water fluoridation. Health monitoring report for England 2022.
• Published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).
• Prepared by the Water Fluoridation Health Monitoring Working Group, comprising colleagues from both OHID and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
• “This report would not have been possible without UKHSA’s invaluable contribution.”
2021 – Sept 23. Independent report. Statement on water fluoridation. By the UK Chief Medical Officers:
Dr Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer, Wales
Dr Michael McBride, Chief Medical Officer, Northern Ireland
Dr Gregor Smith, Chief Medical Officer, Scotland
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer, England
2021 – August 27. Letter to Right Honourable Boris Johnson on water fluoridation from 3 scientists.
2021 – August 25. U.K. Parliament – Rapid Response: Water fluoridation and dental health by Gary Lowery and Sarah Bunn. An overview of water fluoridation in England, including the impact of fluoride on dental health, an overview of dental health in England, and the importance and implications of dental health inequalities. (See also here)
2021 – July 19. Policy paper Health and Care Bill: water fluoridation. Department of Health & Social Care.
2021 – May. Report on racism in dentistry titled “Equality Diversity and Inclusion in Dentistry,” by Diversity in Dentistry Action Group (DDAG).
2021 – April 1. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
is a government agency in the United Kingdom, responsible since April 2021 for England-wide public health protection and infectious disease capability, and replacing Public Health England. It is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The formation of the UKHSA essentially transferred Public Health England’s health improvement functions to the department, while its health protection elements form part of the new government agency.[1] Staff and systems were moved into the new organisation in 2021.[2] PHE continued to have a shadow existence until September 2021.[3] UKHSA became fully operational on 1 October 2021.[4] Reference: Wikipedia.
2021 – March 29. Public Health England (PHE) disbanded.
According to Wikipedia: On 29 March 2021, the UK Government announced that PHE would be disbanded and that its public health functions would be transferred, in proposals to reforms public health structures.[6] From 1 October 2021, PHE’s health protection functions were formally transferred into the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), while its health improvement functions were transferred to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (DHSC), NHS England, and NHS Digital.[7]
PHE was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a result of the reorganisation of the National Health Service (NHS) in England outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It took on the role of the Health Protection Agency, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and a number of other health bodies.[4] It was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct delivery organisation with operational autonomy.[5]
2021 – February 2021. New Health Policy: Integration and Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all. Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care by Command of Her Majesty. See also PDF version
2020 – July 14. Use of public water supply fluoride concentration as an indicator of population exposure to fluoride in England 1995–2015. By Roberts DJ, Morris J, Wood A, etc. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 92:514.
Mean fluoride concentration (mg/L) England 2005–2015 mapped at Middle Layer Super Output Area level using 2011 boundaries
Fig. 8
Areas with fluoridation scheme operating at any time during 2005–2015 England mapped at Middle Layer Super Output Area level using 2011 boundaries
The map from the Department of Health & Social Care (April 2022) above shows fluoridation schemes in and around:
- Birmingham
- Crewe
- Lincoln and Scunthorpe
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Workington
And naturally occurring fluoride levels greater than 0.5 milligrams per litre near:
- Bath
- Cambridge and Norwich
- Newbury
- Newcastle upon Tyne
2020 – March. National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England: oral health survey of 5-year-olds 2019. A report on the variations in prevalence and severity of dental decay. Prepared by: National Dental Public Health Team. Public Health England.
2019 – July 22. Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s –consultation document. Cabinet Office and Department of Health and Social Care. Note from FAN: the formatted pdf version of this document appears to be coded to dis-allow 3rd parties from putting it online. We made the pdf version from the html to secure it for historical purposes. You may find it easier to read the html version available online here.
2018 – Statutory Instrument 2018 no. 647. The water supply (water quality) regulations 2016, as amended. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2018/647/contents/made
2018 – December. Environmental Public Health Tracking in England. Report on recent activities. Prepared by the Environmental Epidemiology Team: Giovanni Leonardi; Helen Crabbe; Tayo Owodunni; Harriet Gordon Brown; Tony Fletcher; Rebecca Hams; David Roberts. Public Health England.
2018 – September 3. BBC: In their element – Fluorine and discussion of Fluoridation. BBC World News Discovery.
2018 – March. Water Fluoridation. Health monitoring report for England 2018. Public Health England.
2017 – November. Hydrogen Fluoride and Hydrochloric Acid (HF) Incident Management. PHE publications gateway number: 2014790
2017 – June. Guidance. Health matters: child dental health. Public Health England.
2017 – March. A quick guide to a healthy mouth in children. Public Health England.
2016 – Drinking Water Inspectorate. Guidance on the implementation of the water supply (water quality) regulations 2016 in England and the water supply (water quality) regulations 2010 (as amended) in Wales.
2016 – March. Improving oral health: a community water fluoridation toolkit for local authorities. Public Health England. PHE publications gateway number: 201 5737.
2015 – October. Sugar Reduction. The evidence for action. Prepared by Dr Alison Tedstone, Victoria Targett, Dr Rachel Allen, and staff at Public Health England
2015 – September. Database of the Fluoride (F) content of Selected Drinks and Foods in the UK. Prepared by Professor V Zohoori (Teesside University) & Professor A Maguire (Newcastle University).
2015 – BBC News: Childsmile dental scheme ‘saves NHS £5m a year’. June 9.
2015 – BBC Explains Fluorine. March 4.
2015 – March 19. Children’s Dental Health Survey 2013. Country specific report: England. Authors: Dr Richard Holmes, Jessie Porter, Dr Chris Vernazza, Dr Georgios Tsakos, Rachael Ryan, Matthew Dennes. Responsible statistician:
Gemma Ramsay. A National Statistics publication. Health and Social Care Information Centre.
2015 – January. The State of Children’s Oral Health in England. Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
2014 – BBC News: Southampton water fluoridation plans scrapped. October 28.
2014 – September. Oral health survey of three-year-old children 2013. A report on the prevalence and severity of dental decay. Dental public health epidemiology programme. Public Health England.
2014 – March 25. Water fluoridation. Health monitoring report for England 2014. Public Health England.
2014 – March 26. Fluoridisation of water is a step towards tackling health inequalities. Royal Society for Public Health.
2013 – June 7. Fluoride balance in infants and young children in the UK and its clinical relevance for the dental team. By Maguire A, Zohoori FV. British Dental Journal.
2011 – BBC TV: Southampton pro and con debate on fluoridation.
Reports commissioned by the South Central Strategic Health Authority
2009 – Independent critical appraisal of selected studies reporting an association between fluoride in drinking water and IQ. By Bazian Ltd.
2009 – Critical appraisal of “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s standards.” By Bazian Ltd.
2009 – March 5 – Strategic Health Authority Wins Praise. Statement by the Royal Society for Public Health.
2009 – February 12 – British Medical Association: Position on the fluoridation of water
2008 – Report of the Water Fluoridation Panel. Report commissioned by Hampshire County Council.
2008 – BBC: Experts quizzed over fluoride. October 20.
2006 – A Review of the Toxicity and Environmental Behaviour of Hydrogen Fluoride in Air. Environment Agency.
2004 – BBC. Scotland: Fluoride plan goes down the drain. November 18.
- Sept 14, 2002: Crtique of the MRC report published in the British Medical Journal
- Sept 27, 2002: Critique by Lord Edward Baldwin
2000 – The York Review: Fluoridation of Drinking Water: a Systematic Review of its Efficacy and Safety
- Comprehensive, Peer-Review Critique of York study by Paul Connett, PhD
- Review by Assoc. Editor of the British Medical Journal
- British Lord Criticizes Dental Community for Misinforming Public about York Review
- See more reviews
1991 – Water Industry Act 1991 c.56. (1991). http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/56/contents
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Report commissioned by Hampshire County Council
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