Water fluoridation: what does the rest of the world think? Australia may have just been through an election campaign, but it’s fair to say that certain communities have been more fired up about water fluoridation – a non-issue at federal level – than anything postulated by Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd. The debate over whether to add fluoride to water supplies has flirted with the unhinged, an anti-fluoride protester at a public meeting in Lismore last week ominously telling NSW’s chief medical officer, “I have friends in Syria, do you know of sarin gas?” The NSW opposition has said it has had enough, tabling a motion that would compel local authorities to add fluoride to water, ending what NSW Labor calls the “anti-fluoridation circus”. Use of fluoride in drinking water to strengthen teeth is strongly backed by the Australian Dental Association, scientific studies and state governments, which have attempted to shoot down scientifically unproven theories that fluoride can cause everything from allergies and arthritis to cancer and bone fractures. However, the use of fluoride is far from universal, prompting warnings that children in areas without fluoridated water are suffering far higher rates of tooth decay than those who consume the substance. Water fluoridation was introduced to Australia in the 1960s and every state and territory now provides it to 70% or more of its population. There are discrepancies – for example, 96% of people in NSW are provided fluoridated drinking water, compared with 70% of those in the Northern Territory and 86% in Queensland. So how do other countries compare? USA Grand Rapids in Michigan became the first city in the world to have fluoridated drinking water in 1945. Now, more than 204m people in the US have access to fluoridated drinking water – roughly two thirds of the population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposes that 80% of Americans should have fluoridated water by 2020, hailing it as “safe, effective and cost saving”. Canada Canada has been held up by anti-fluoride campaigners as a standard bearer for a fluoride backlash. Rates of water fluoridation vary wildly between provinces – about three quarters of the population in Ontario, compared with just 4% in British Columbia – but several high profile decisions have bolstered the anti-fluoride cause. About 30 Canadian municipalities have banned fluoride in recent years, most notably the region of Waterloo in 2010, followed by Calgary in 2011. New Zealand The New Zealand government says it “strongly” recommends the adoption of water fluoridation. About half of the population has access to fluoridated water. However, Christchurch’s mayor has ruled out adding the substance to the city’s “perfect” water and Hamilton voted to remove fluoride in June. theguardian/world/2013/sep/17/water-fluoridation
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 11:40:15 +0000
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