Fluoridation Bill Gets Mixed Reception

Last week, Gov. Pete Wilson signed into law a bill requiring water districts that serve more than 10,000 households to fluoridate their drinking water.

While dentists and public health experts had long held that fluoride can reduce cavities, especially in children from low-income neighborhoods, ultra-conservatives have argued that it was an unnecessary intervention by the government.

Some studies have linked fluoride to cancer and other ailments, while others have refuted those conclusions and demonstrated its effectiveness in combatting tooth decay.

What is your reaction to California’s move to fluoridate drinking water?

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter:

“It’s something that’s long overdue. It’s a shame that the city and other water systems did not get into gear and have to wait to get a bill passed . . . . This is the simplest, cheapest, most effective way to help children avoid getting cavities, especially in low-income areas. Some will get them anyway, but it can help. We have a lot of children whose teeth are at risk. This is the way to reduce that risk and also save money for the taxpayers at large.”

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John McManus, president of the John Birch Society:

“Our position is very clear and it is that compulsory medication is a denial of personal freedom. . . . Compulsory medication is wrong in a free society, and anybody who wants to can fluoridate his own water. . . . We’re not saying yea or nay as to whether fluoride is safe. We’re saying compulsory medication is a step toward totalitarianism in our society.”

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Eugene Casagrande, founder of Los Angeles Citizens for Better Dental Health:

“I think it’s a long time in coming. I think it’s a great day for the people of the state of California, which ranked 48th in the country as far as states that have fluoridated water. . . . We’ve been working on this in Los Angeles way before the state fluoridation bill. . . . We believe the citizens of Los Angeles deserve what people in other large population areas have had for many years. . . . We’re talking about maintenance of one-quarter of a penny per person per year.”

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David Kennedy, a San Diego dentist:

“It’s a blunder. . . . Fluoride is a poison. It causes increases in incidents of hip fractures [among elderly]. . . . It will double the incidents of fluoride poisoning in children. . . . San Francisco, which chose to fluoridate water in 1952, has no [more] identifiable decrease in tooth decay than Los Angeles. . . . I’m upset at the fools in Sacramento. I’m upset that they have not acted in our interest. . . . If you put fluoride on a tooth, it will kill the bugs that cause tooth decay. Well, plutonium will too.”

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Michael Miller, president of the California Dental Assn.:

“We were excited. It’s one of the best, most important health measures to be passed by the Legislature in many years. . . . The first public water supply to use fluoride was in Grand Rapids, Mich., 50 years ago this year. . . . We’re really late to get into this business . . . . The critics and their wild claims are totally without scientific background.”