9 Oct 2014
NEW HEALTH NEW ZEALAND INC v ATTORNEY-GENERAL for and on behalf of THE MINISTER OF HEALTH [2014] NZHC 2487
- Citation
- [2014] NZHC 2487
- Court
- High Court
Although adding fluoride to water is undertaken for a therapeutic purpose and fluoride when dissolved in water is administered to humans, the Medicines Act must be read in context with the Medicines Regulations; Schedule 1 only treats substances as medicines at concentrations above 10 mg/l, whereas authorised community fluoridation produces fluoride concentrations up to 1.5 mg/l, which are therefore outside the statutory definition of 'medicine', and HFA and SSF used at those concentrations are not medicines.