Dentists too sweet with sugar industry.

A press release from the Irish Dental Association (IDA), of which I am a member, set my teeth on edge the other day. The "sugar tax" muted by the Minister of Health in September was picked up by the IDA who suggested the money should go to fund dental care.(1) Compensation of sorts for the damage the sugar industry has inflicted upon the teeth of Irish children. The idea of making an industry pay for the harm it´s caused is an honest thought but the problem is, the IDA believe it or not, accepts donations, advertising and sponsorship from the same industry. So why is an organisation that represents the interests of dentists in the pocket of the confectionery industry? Is it a simple case of hypocrisy, an ethical oversight or is something really rotten in the IDA?


As many dentists busy themselves lecturing their patients on the benefits of a balanced diet while highlighting the damage sweets and fizzy drinks can cause to healthy teeth, their professional organisation has signed deals of accreditation and received tens of thousands of euros in "charitable donations" from sugar peddlers. Wrigleys has been paying and using the Irish Dental Association´s name on its chewing gum for several years.(2) Whenever there is a new Wrigleys product their packaging beams "Approved by the Irish Dental Association". (3, 4) When Extra Ice launched earlier this year the IDA pocketed a hefty cheque of €20000 for its support.(5)


Defenders of this bed-sharing with the sweet cartels plead, "sure aren´t they all sugar-free" but the reality is that only a few Wrigleys products have artificial sweeteners. The vast majority are laced with sugar - skittles, starburst, juicy fruit etc. On their website they describe themselves as "a recognized leader in confections with a wide range of product offerings including gum, mints, hard and chewy candies, lollipops, and chocolate."(6) Not much claim to be sugar-free there! So how could a dental organisation not know that in 2008 when it approved Wrigley´s Orbit Complete, yet another chewing gum, that the same company had just merged with Mars Incorporated. (7) Mars Incorporated for those who cannot guess is a super-sugar company with brands such as Mars, Snickers, Milky way, Twix, M&Ms to name but a few. (8) Last week another press release from the IDA called for a public health warning on all "sugary, energy-dense foods".(9) Ah, the hypocrisy of it all, if you pay us we approve your products if you don´t then we stick you with a health warning!


But it doesn´t stop there. The journal of the Irish Dental Association also reveals page-long ads for Wrigleys products.(10) The last two IDA annual conferences heralded Wrigleys as a "Gold Trade Sponsor" with prime positioning of its stall to trap any unsuspecting dentists unaware of its gummy double standards.(11) And best of all, at September´s Ploughing Championships in Kildare, Wrigleys sponsored the IDA´s stand where its staff and members dealt out "samples of chewing gum".(12) Imagine how long it would take the Irish Medical Association to refuse an endorsement for a new nicotine-free cigarette from the tobacco industry. Seconds, milliseconds?

IDA in conjunction with Wrigleys at National Ploughing Championships where members  handed out "samples  of chewing gum". Simon Coveney, Minister of Agriculture in attendance.

So how have Wrigleys a major player in the sugar industry sweet-talked a dental association and dentists into handing out its products in public? Is it clever marketing by Wrigleys, a complicit naivety in a professional organisation or simply blind greed? For the answer to that question we´ll have to masticate a little more. All the above has been brought to the attention of the Irish Dental Association and we will have to await the response from their "Board of Directors". For the time being, I and Irish dentists like myself, will continue to spend hours preaching to children about the consequences of eating sugary snacks. We´ll try to improve our patients´ diets but we´ll still have to fill or even extract teeth while the professional body that represents us continues to take money from an industry whose sole aim is to pump us full of as much sugar as possible.


Citations:

1.Irish Dental Association press release 09/11/2011 - http://www.dentist.ie/resources/news/showarticle.jsp?id=1161
2. IDA journal Volume 51 (1) : Spring, 2005 pg 15 http://www.dentist.ie/resources/jida/articles/2005/JIDA_Spring05.pdf
3. Wrigley launches new Extra tooth fairy promotion 01/08/2011. http://www.sweetretailing.co.uk/index.php/sweet_talk/view/wrigleys_extra_tooth_fairy_campaign
4. Wrigleys Orbit Complete advert run by ASDA.
http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?aisleid=1214921926000&skuId=30652376&departmentid=1214921923000
5. Wrigleys Extra Tooth Fairy Fund website Terms & Conditions no 12.
https://www.extratoothfairy.com/(S(ooxqgq2gbkex4kmk5afjhjvn))/wrigley-tooth-fairy-fund.htm
6. Wrigleys website - subsidiary of Mars Incorporated. http://www.wrigley.com/global/about-us.aspx
7. Mars Incoporated completes acquisition of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. Press release 6/10/2008 - http://www.wrigley.com/global/press/news-details.aspx?id=1164
8. Mars Incorporated website - brands. http://www.mars.com/global/brands/chocolate.aspx
9. IDA website press release 14/11/2011 Dentists reiterate call for public health warnings on sift drinks. http://www.dentist.ie/resources/news/showarticle.jsp?id=1162 
10. IDA Journal Volume 57 Number 5 October/November 2011 - http://www.dentist.ie/resources/jida/articles/2011/jida_oct_nov_11.pdf
11. IDA Journal Volume 57 Number 2 April/May 2011 - http://www.dentist.ie/resources/jida/articles/2011/jida_apr_may_11.pdf
12. IDA Journal Volume 57 Number 5 October/November 2011 p 234
http://www.dentist.ie/resources/jida/articles/2011/jida_oct_nov_11.pdf


Footnote.
The above letter was sent to Fintan Hourihan of the Irish Dental Association on 21/11/2011. He forwarded the contents to Professor Leo Stassen, Honorary Editor of Irish Dental Journal. Prof. Stassen felt its contents though controversial "should be published". The letter was then forwarded to Paul O Grady of Think Media who edited some of the language to the satisfaction of all parties. The letter was to be published in the following edition of the Journal of the Irish Dental Association.
One week later Paul O Grady contacted the author declaring that he had sought a legal opinion which "advised against publication" because "in its current format the letter is defamatory of Wrigleys". When asked what issues were in particular defamatory and how could the letter be changed to accommodate these concerns, he mysteriously added, "we are advised that you may face different/additional issues to us and that you should seek your own independent advice". The letter remains unpublished and undiscussed by the Irish Dental Association.