Customers show "yellow card" to Water Company bosses
17 December, 2003
PRESS RELEASE from National Pure Water AssociationCustomers show "yellow card" to Water Company bosses.
In November, Parliament gave power to strategic health authorities (SHAs) to order water companies to add fluoridation chemicals to the public drinking water supplies after public consultations. The water companies want civil and criminal indemnity if they are forced to fluoridate.
Last week, the National Pure Water Association's 43-year fight against artificial water fluoridation took a new turn.
"We have been inundated with calls from very angry people all over the UK who consider fluoridation to be mass medication without their consent, with untested, unlicensed chemicals," said Jane Jones, Campaign Director of the NPWA.
"The companies are trying to raise billions of pounds for new infrastructure and say that customers' bills will rise by about 30% over the next few years. If water fluoridation goes ahead, people will not hesitate to deduct money from their water bills."
"Many people are threatening to stop paying their water bills all together if fluoridation goes ahead. We cannot support that, but we do feel that customers would have a genuine grievance and would therefore be entitled to take action to protect their health and their rights. The water companies know that fluoridation contravenes several Human Rights Conventions and Acts. That's why they asked for civil and criminal indemnity if they are forced to fluoridate."
In 1995, Yorkshire Water issued a press statement saying that they would not fluoridate because their customers did not want it and because Government indemnities to them were "insufficient."
On Saturday, volunteers from the NPWA, the Green Party and Friends of the Earth were joined by other groups from across Yorkshire and Lancashire to launch a postcard campaign on Yorkshire Water and United Utilities. The campaign goes national this week.
Peter Crampton of West Yorkshire Campaign Against Fluoridation, said: "People are not prepared to allow unelected health authorities to override their human rights. Several MPs complained that SHAs had urged them to vote for fluoridation. Clearly the public can have no trust in these quangos to undertake impartial consultations. In any case, 'the public' has no authority to remove the right of any individual to refuse medication. That's why this action is aimed directly at the water companies."
"Elected Councils have a duty to protect the public," said Cllr Liz Vaughan of North West Councils Against Fluoridation. "To medicate people without their individual consent is a serious violation of human rights legislation. We want an assurance from water companies that they will not fluoridate. If they do, people will protect the rights and health of their families by deducting the costs of home water treatment equipment (between �400 and �600) from their water bills. Alternatively, they will charge the water companies for bottled water."
"The new Water Act is illegal because violates every individual's right to refuse medication or treatment for non-contagious diseases," said Dr Spencer Fitzgibbon of The Green Party.
Jenny Jones, Green Deputy Mayor of London agrees. "This is a yellow card for the water companies. Their customers are not at all happy and I entirely agree with them. Water fluoridation is mass medication."
"The National Register of Objectors to Water Fluoridation has topped half a million and more people sign up every day," said Jane Jones. /ends
Contact: Jane Jones, National Pure Water Association. 01226 360909.
Cllr Liz Vaughan, N.W. Councils Against Fluoridation. 01229 885420.
Green Party Media, 0207 561 0282.
Peter Crampton, West Yorks. Campaign Against Fluoridation. 07810 657398.