Sad day for public health

URGENT Media Release from Lyall Thurston
Immediate Release 19 July 2009

Sad day for public health

“It’s a sad day when commercial interests and scaremongering rule over public health,” says Lyall Thurston, spokesperson for the Parents of Children with Spina Bifida.

He was responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement today that the folic acid fortification programme may be postponed three years.

“Members of the Food and Grocery Council should feel ashamed. They’ve given us their support – many times and have been fortifying many breadlines for years.

“What’s worse is that women may now be too afraid to take folic acid. They know more than 35 babies a year affected by NTDs, with 20 or more terminated. Now this could increase. I don’t know how they sleep at night. I’m absolutely disgusted.”

The Council had never presented the research the campaign was launched on last Sunday.

“The 57 countries that fortify all have ongoing monitoring programmes and thorough research. They have found no evidence to date that stands up to any scrutiny.”

“It has just come to light that the Norwegian research referred to in the Dominion-Post recently was based on participants who already had lung cancer and heart disease and were part of a public health anti-smoking campaign.

“The conference 'no-fortification vote' referred to was an end of conference session not attended or boycotted by most of the participants and no opposing views were proposed.

“Nothing has changed. There is no evidence that folic acid, even in high doses, causes cancer as opposed to thousands of studies that confirm categorically that it reduces NTDs by up to 70 percent and is beneficial for everyone where natural folate is lacking in the diet.

“The New Zealand programme has been rigorous in its development. It achieved Cross Party Support. Folic acid fortification is endorsed by the World Health Organisation and New Zealand’s women, medical, health and child-related organisations, and others. There is no medical, scientific or even political reason to review.

“All of the scaremongering has been based on total misinformation and commercial reasons. Even the claim of 85 per cent of the New Zealand public against fortification is wrong. The FSANZ research showed nearly 100 percent in favour of fortification. The 85 per cent figure is those in the focus group who had a preference for voluntary fortification.

“That would be nice however we know, because it’s been voluntary for nearly 10 years, that it doesn’t work – unless it’s used to sell bread at a higher price so that it’s out of reach of many women. Ironically the bakers’ campaign has made success from wider voluntary fortification even less likely.”

ENDS

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