§ Mr. CrausbyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much has been spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on research(a) directly funded by the Department of Health and (b) funded through the Medical Research Council into the effects of fluoridation on people suffering from kidney disease; [139744]
(2) how much has been spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on research (a) directly funded by the Department of Health and (b) funded through the Medical Research Council into the effects of fluoridation on people suffering from thyroid disease. [139745]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe research we have commissioned has been on the general effects of fluoridation on health. "A Systematic Review of Fluoridation", carried out by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination of the University of York in the year 2000, cost £79,648.00 and the study of the bio-availability of fluoride, which has just been completed by the University of Newcastle, cost £47,934. In addition, the Medical Research Council (MRC) undertook the study "Water Fluoridation and Health", which was published in 2002, under concordat arrangements with the Department. York identified three studies of goitre and two of cancer of the thyroid gland, none of which showed a statistically significant association with fluoridation. The MRC also noted that attention has been given to cancers of the stomach, kidney and thyroid, because fluoride is usually absorbed in the stomach and can be concentrated in the kidneys and thyroid, but concluded that,
the evidence available does not suggest that fluoridation of water increases the risk for cancer in general or for any particular type of cancer.