Tap water: Should it be fluoridated?
- January 26, 2011 12:36 PM |
- By POV
The latest move in a long-simmering debate across the country on fluoridation is happening in Calgary.
Wednesday's day-long consultation by Calgary city council is on an issue other Canadian municipalities have faced.
Waterloo, Ont., for example no longer adds fluoride to its water supply. Less than half of the city's population of 500,000 turned out to vote on the issue last summer, and the anti-fluoride side won by a slim margin.
"Since there's so many ways to access fluoride, why do you need to have it the water?" asked Blaine Grey, a 53-year-old father who went door to door to campaign against fluoridation.
Fluoridation first started in Canada 60 years ago. Forty-five per cent of Canadians drink fluoridated water, Health Canada said in 2007, the latest national figures available.
Dentists and authorities such as Health Canada and the World Health Organization that support fluoridation say adding the mineral to water protects teeth.
But those against fluoridation say the cavity protection practice risks fluorosis, a condition where tiny stains or pits appear on teeth if too much fluoride is ingested.
Read more.
Are you concerned about fluoride in your drinking water? If your municipality fluoridates tap water, do you want them to stop? Let us know in the comments below.
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