Fluoride debate rages as MPs discuss water bill
Local health authorities could be given the power to force water companies to ‘fluoridate’ their supplies, if proposed legislation goes through.
The Water Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons today, stops short of proposing a national scheme to add fluoride to drinking water, but will allow the public to appeal for the measure at a local level.
The British Dental Association supports the proposals claiming that fluoride in water supplies reduces tooth decay.
Dr. John Renshaw, chair of the BDA’s executive board, said: “By supporting this amendment to the Water Bill, MPs will be giving local communities the chance to choose fluoridated water and help safeguard the future of their children’s dental health.”
And the BDA claims that there is evidence to back up its claims, pointing out that in Manchester, the average five-year-old has three times as many decayed, missing or filled teeth as the average five-year-old in Birmingham, where water supplies have been fluoridated for over 40 years.
But UNICEF, the UN’s children’s charity, has claimed that “excessive fluoride intake carries serious toxic effects”, and critics claim that fluoride has alleged links to cancers, bone problems, and birth defects.
Water companies have had the power to add fluoride to water supplies for nearly 20 years, but only 10% of the population actually lives in an area where the water has been treated in this manner.
Many companies are thought to have held back from fluoridation because of concerns about legal action from opponents. Those companies would have no choice under the proposed legislation if there were a strong consensus from local residents.
An independent study of fluoridation – the York Review – has suggested that the evidence regarding the effects of adding the chemical to water is poor, and that it has not been proven to be safe.
