2004communityaction

Please don't medicate my water

Barrington Times

Date

December 23, 2004

To the editor:

Your drinking water is medicated. It began at a time when lead was added to gasoline and asbestos lined our pipes. It was declared safe and effective by the "experts." A lot of scientific research has been done since then 1950s but no one has bothered to look. I know because I called the water board and asked.

Mention fluoride and even a 10-year-old can proudly tell you that fluoride helps prevent cavities. Fluoride is good for you and is responsible for the decline in tooth decay. Mention fluoride to a toxicologist and she will tell you that it is more toxic than lead and only slightly less toxic than arsenic. When I called the director of the Providence water authority he told me that the water has been fluoridated since the 1950s and all the scientific evidence shows fluoridation to be both safe and effective. I don't think he has been looking very hard.

In July of 2000 the Journal of the American Dental Association confirmed that any benefit from fluoride is topical not systemic. Meaning that putting it directly on your teeth (as in toothpaste) may be helpful but drinking fluoride does not improve dental health. In fact, ingesting fluoride has been associated with an increased risk of cancer, neurological impairment, behavioral changes, kidney damage, fluorosis and increased risk of hip fractures.

In addition, recent scientific evidence proves that fluoride is not responsible for the decline in tooth decay (countries that do not fluoridate their water have experienced similar declines) and that many of us are suffering from overexposure to fluoride. Infants and small children are especially vulnerable, particularly babies who are bottle fed.

It is absolutely unethical and unacceptable to medicate an entire population through their water supply. No fluoride containing substances have ever been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the purpose of fighting tooth decay. We are all part of the experiment and no one ever bothered to ask our consent. Proponents of fluoridation are likely to avoid public debate because when all of the facts are out in the open it is simply a policy that can not be defended. I encourage you to research this important topic for yourself. If you decide that ingesting fluoride is indeed beneficial for you and your family then take fluoride supplements, but please don't put it in my drinking water. We need dentists for healthy teeth, not fluoridated water.

Naomi Malik