BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Crest, Colgate/Tom’s of Maine, and Hello; I want you to take a look in your medicine cabinet or on top of your bathroom sink and tell me if you see these products. More importantly, I want you to look at them, especially if you are allowing your children to use these products. I have some news for you that is not going to be exciting to read.

On Monday January 13^th, 2025, six class action lawsuits were filed accusing major dental product manufacturers of deceptively marketing products containing fluoride to young children, and misleading parents to believe the products are safe for toddlers. The lawsuits also allege the companies fail to adequately flag instructions for proper use, as mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Well, this news would make sense for a parent living in the United States, but why does that concern a parent living here in Canada. By and large, Crest manufactures most of its toothpaste at its plant in Greensboro. However, they do manufacture some of the toothpaste in Naucalpan, Mexico. To be more specific, Kid’s Crest Cavity Prevention is manufactured in Mexico. (For anyone concerned, check the packaging ahead of time to see that it says, “Made in the USA.”).

Colgate toothpaste is made in the United States, Mexico, and other countries around the world. The Colgate Total line is manufactured in Morristown, Tennessee. (Their toothpaste that is made in the USA is usually clearly marked with “made in the USA” or “proudly made by American workers). Hello company is a natural oral care brand that was founded in 2015. The company is based in San Francisco, California, and is committed to making oral care products that are both effective and good for the environment.

According to the parents who came forward, the companies design their product labels with candy and fruit juice flavors and images and cartoon characters to appeal to young children, often misleading them to think the products are meant to be consumed as food. The complaints highlight the serious risks to children’s health from ingesting excess fluoride. These include flu-like symptoms from: acute toxicity, dental fluorosis, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption and even death.

Colgate Kids natural product, marketed as “Silly Strawberry” by Tom’s of Maine, also features the word “natural,” implying that the product is free from toxic ingredients — which it isn’t — and that there is no need to limit how much paste goes on the brush. Crest offers flavors like “Bubblegum” and “Sparkle Fun” with cartoon animals on the box. Candy flavors and cartoons make it tempting for children to eat toothpaste, plus ask a child how good it tastes, and they will tell you.  Children under age six lack the developed swallowing reflexes that allow them to control how much they ingest, increasing the likelihood they will swallow the products.

Research details that excessive fluoride intake can lead to dental fluorosis, a tooth discoloration caused by overexposure during childhood. Since the introduction of candy-like fluoride products in the 1980s, the rate of dental fluorosis among U.S. schoolchildren has skyrocketed. Rates rose from 23% of children in 1986-87 to “a staggering 68%” of children by 2015-16, the complaint alleges.

Each year, Poison Control receives between 10,000 and 15,000 calls due to excess consumption of fluoride toothpaste, and there are also thousands of calls related to the ingestion of mouth rinse most of which involve young children and hundreds of which result in hospitalization.

Ingesting too much fluoride can also cause acute toxicity, with flu-like symptoms such as nausea, stomach upset and vomiting — symptoms that parents may not recognize as being related to fluoride. The complaints note that swallowing just one full strip of toothpaste can cause these effects in toddlers.

Disturbingly, the evidence supporting these claims is growing. Scientists at the National Toxicology Program last week published a meta-analysis in the JAMA Pediatrics linking fluoridated water and IQ loss in children. It “found significant inverse associations between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ scores.”

Attorney Michael Connett, partner at Siri & Glimstad, is representing the plaintiffs. Connett successfully represented plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over water fluoridation. In that case, a federal judge ruled in September 2024 that water fluoridation at current U.S. levels poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children and ordered the EPA to take regulatory action.

The lawsuits seek to hold the companies accountable for including packaging elements on their products that allegedly mislead consumers and violate the act. Plaintiffs seek statutory damages to compensate for their financial loss incurred by purchasing more of the products than they needed because they were misled to overuse them. They also seek punitive damages.

REFERENCES:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828425

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Where is Crest Toothpaste Made? 2025 Overview

What is Hello Toothpaste?

BY PAUL JUNOR

The announcement that school boards have resorted to hiring private investigators to deal with rising rates of teachers’ absenteeism came as a surprise. It was revealed that a memo was sent out to the over 4,000 teachers of the Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers union alerting them of what the TCDSB is doing. The memo states, “It is essential to use sick days only as intended under the collective agreement. The board has hired private investigators to observe members, attempting to identify what they deem as misuse of sick days. This has led to disciplinary actions, up to and including termination. Protect yourself by adhering to the (collective agreement) guidelines.”

The TCDSB hired two investigators who were part of an investigation that resulted in five teachers from one school being fired. The teachers took time off for sick days but went to the Niagara casino instead. In addition, the teachers and the vice-principal were also fired as he had prior knowledge of the trip. There is an investigation unit that is a part of the board as well as outside investigators that are often used. They investigate sick leave abuse as well as claims of misconduct.

In June 2023, the Ministry of Education informed school boards across Ontario that they should implement attendance support programs in light of chronic shortage of teachers. The memo notes that “Absenteeism not only creates operational priorities, but it also adds financial pressure on school boards.”

In an article titled, “The Party’s Over: Toronto School Boards Cut Down On Sick Leave Abuse,” Deborah Karam, President of Toronto Elementary Catholic Teacher states, “If the (board) truly cared about the quality of student education and the welfare of school staff, it would focus on understanding and addressing why teachers are reporting higher levels of stress burnout than ever.”

“There have been several teachers who have received letters from the board requesting that they justify sick days that they have taken,” according to Antonella Di Carlo, President of the Toronto Catholic Teachers’ Secondary Unit. She states, “You’re terrorizing a profession right…now. For the minority.”

The TCDSB is facing a $66 million deficit and with sick leave costs representing about $44 million of it the board is trying to be fiscally responsible. Chair Markus de Domenico notes, “We just have to ensure that the system is being used for what it’s designed-to assist people that are ill or have reason to be off. There are, as there are in any large organizations, occasionally people that choose to abuse that, but they don’t represent the very vast majority of our staff.”

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The future is beckoning, calling for us as evolving entities to grasp, and understand the power of technology. We are the lucky generation that will witness the birth of tomorrow’s technologies. From artificial intelligence that redefines reality to sustainable solutions that heal our planet, we are experiencing the power of human ingenuity. The Consumer Electronics show (CES) 2025 hosted hundreds of: innovators, engineers and manufacturers in Las Vegas showcasing their cutting-edge and exciting technologies. There were plenty of new technologies on show, with a significant number leaning on artificial intelligence (AI).

For those who attend CES, they are immersing themselves in the heart of the tech ecosystem, where innovation thrives, and the future takes shape. They had an opportunity to experience the future firsthand, explore cutting-edge AI, sustainable technologies, smart cities, and wearable marvels.

Although there are plenty of other technologies worth highlighting, The Toronto Caribbean Newspaper has selected seven innovations that have caught our eye so far, and that we want to share these technologies with the community.

 An ai-powered reader for children’s books

Winner of a CES 2025 Innovation Award, Woongjin ThinkBig’s Booxtory is an AI-powered reading device that uses technology to outsource the effort of parents reading to their children. You can place a book down in front of the device and the onboard camera uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to take in the words — with an in-house generative AI system reading out the words through a connected speaker. Its plethora of features includes switching between different preset voices, or even training the AI with a sample of your own voice.

The paper like digital art display with a year-long battery life

For my art lovers, InkPoster is the world’s first low-power and high-resolution display that lets you upload and display full-color pieces of artwork on your walls using e-paper technology. The battery life lasts for up to a year on a single charge. The largest model has a 31.5-inch (80 centimeter) 2,560 x 1,440-pixel rectangular display — all featured in an aluminum frame with a matte finish. Each one is also Wi-Fi compatible and only needs a power supply when new images are being uploaded.

The headset that puts you in a “sound bubble”

This one is for the person who knows a person who talks way too loud on their phone. The Skyted 320 is a headset unlike any other — not only does the microphone isolate your voice, but the device itself creates an invisible sound bubble around you that makes sure nobody 2 feet (0.6 meters) away from you can hear your voice. The technology relies on lowering the sound threshold at which your voice can be picked up by the microphones, representatives said. The minimum voice level activation is 40 decibels, whereas most devices need you to speak at a volume of at least 90 dB — the microphones will also isolate your voice and dampen any background noise for the person you’re speaking with.

A fridge that can cook

Figo is a refrigerator that fits on your countertops that can cook and store food until it is ready to be prepared with sous-vide cooking — a method of cooking that involves sealing food in a bag and submerging it in water heated to the precise temperatures required. This device lets people effortlessly schedule meals that they prepped a couple of days previously. The idea is to promote better food consumption habits, according to EatFigo representatives. In our busy lives, this would be extremely helpful.

The first transparent and wireless tv

First debuting at CES 2024, LG’s wireless and transparent 4K OLED TV, dubbed “Signature OLED T” is now commercially available — if you have at least $60,000 to spend. The “true wireless” technology that LG has given this device is a misnomer, given there are two standard power cables with the set-up that powers the display itself and a companion box. You can plug in any cabling, like HDMI, into the companion box, and set this anywhere in your home up to 30 feet (9 meters) away — ideally with a clear line of sight. The box then transmits the data to the panel itself via Wi-Fi.

A desk chair with inbuilt cooling and heating

I can feel my back thanking me for this one.RAZER debuted a desk chair concept that incorporates a fan system that blows either warm, or cool air at the push of a button. The integrated fan system sucks in air from the unit at the bottom and pipes it through the chair’s skeleton, blowing the air out through grills where your neck would normally rest. The temperature of the air delivered can reach as high as 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) while it reduces the perceived temperature by 35 to 41 F (19 to 22 C) versus room temperature.

A battery-free wireless keyboard

HP has created a wireless keyboard and mouse that don’t rely on batteries — instead, the devices contain a supercapacitor, which has a much higher power density and faster charging time than batteries. Just three minutes of charging with a USB-C port can give the keyboard two months of life before running out of charge and one month for the mouse

The future, whether we embrace it or not, is technology. Its influence is in every facet of our lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary. To ignore this reality is to risk becoming obsolete, spectators in a world shaped by forces we do not understand. The time for passive observation is over. We are going to help our community become active participants, eager learners, and critical thinkers in the technological revolution. Our future depends on it