ETHICAL DILEMMA

Water is a basic need. Chemicals added to water to treat the water's safety is one thing. Chemicals added to water to "treat" the people drinking the water is another thing. Not only is there no way to control the dose for a drug once added to public water, but this practice also denies people's right to consent.
Even with toothpaste, people can choose fluoridated or non-fluoridated toothpaste. For babies, fluoridated toothpaste companies specifically offer non-fluoridated toothpaste choices that are marketed as safe to swallow.
Unlike the 1960s, conventionally grown and especially processed foods and drinks now contain significant amounts of fluoride due to the common use of phosphate fertilizer, fluoride based pesticides, and the processing of foods and drinks with fluoridated water.
Add the amounts of fluoride people absorb from fluoridated dental products, and this is why published research shows that children living in regions without fluoridated water are often already ingesting too much fluoride. And for people who truly want their children and themselves swallowing more fluoride, prescription fluoride supplements are available for $13 per year.

If we truly want public health measures that reduce tooth decay among the financially disadvantaged, elderly and general population, our public health associations need to roll up their sleeves and provide effective programs such as the Scottish Child Smile program, who have been successfully lowering tooth decay — particularly in deprived communities — without adding any fluoride to their water.

THE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

Dental fluorosis and skeletal weakness
- Children develop dental fluorosis by ingesting too much fluoride between 0 and 8 years of age. It doesn't matter if the fluoride comes from foods and drinks due to pesticides or processing, or toothpaste, or fluoridated water etc.
- Those with dental fluorosis have higher bone fractures as well as higher rates of learning disabilities.

Thyroid issues
- Thyroid medication is the third most prescribed medication to Canadian women, because fluoride is displacing iodine on the cell's receptors.
- Study shows that adults living in Canada who have moderate-to-severe iodine deficiencies and higher levels of urinary fluoride may be at an increased risk for underactive thyroid gland activity.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Paul Connett interviews Dr. A. K. Susheela from India, who discusses how ingesting fluoride irritates the stomach lining, leading to IBS. She discovered that from the moment you eliminate fluoride, the gastrointestinal mucosa and the microvilli will regenerate within 10-12 days.
- Canada has one of the highest prevalence of IBS in the world – estimated 18% vs. 11% globally. (Lovell et al. 2012).

ADHD medication in Canada is the number one prescribed medication to boys and girls 6 to 14 years of age and the second most prescribed medication to males between the ages of 15 to 24, according to a June, 2014 Statistics Canada report.