Group stirs debate on fluoride in our water

Q&A Owen Boyden

Many who oppose water fluoridation consider it to be a form of compulsory mass medication. They argue that consent by all water consumers cannot be achieved, nor can water suppliers accurately control the exact levels of fluoride that individuals receive. Neither can they, critics complain, monitor their response.

Opposition to fluoridation has existed in one form or another since its initiation in the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s feeling were running so high that some opponents claimed that fluoridation was actually a communist plot to undermine public health.