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Dear Friends,

A new Zogby poll shows that a majority of Americans (57%) do not know that amalgam is mainly mercury – a neurotoxin, a reproductive toxin, and a pollutant. This number is not surprising because only 11% of Americans are told by their dentists that amalgam contains mercury and fully 23% are misled by the deceptive marketing term “silver fillings.”

Consumers for Dental Choice – joined by the national consumer and environmental groups Mercury Policy Project, Organic Consumers Association, International Indian Treaty Council, Alliance for Natural Health, and Clean Water Action – has issued a special report,
Measurably Misleading.*  This report puts the blame for this widespread lack of public awareness where it belongs – at the feet of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

• FDA’s amalgam rule says the dental industry may hide from consumers the fact that amalgam is 50% mercury

• FDA’s website endorses the deceptive term “silver fillings” to describe this mercury product

• FDA’s goal, clearly stated in its rule, is more – not less – amalgam use

But now comes the Minamata Convention on Mercury!  The U.S. government signed the Minamata Convention – thereby pledging to scale down amalgam use. But FDA’s pro-mercury stance thwarts this pledge to the world.

It’s time to stand up to FDA .and you can help!