In 1999, the Santa Barbara City Council took the proper action and rejected putting fluoride in the drinking water. Mayor Harriet Miller noted, “I have a question about whether the municipal water supply should be used to deliver any chemicals.”
Plenty of questions exist about this chemical — from whether and to what extent it poses health risks, to whether any government entity should put a substance in the drinking water that many residents simply don’t want in it.
The government ought not set out to mass medicate drinking water with fluoride or any other chemical that has nothing to do with keeping water supplies safe.
Give residents pure drinking water. Period.
That should be the mission of water utilities, not furthering an agenda that has nothing to do with clean and clear drinking water.
To that end, the News-Press supports a measure on the November ballot in Santa Maria to control additives put into the city’s water supply for “health purposes” and to make sure any additives aren’t contaminated.
The language of Measure W itself doesn’t mention fluoride, and instead would require Food and Drug Administration approval of any of these additives before they can go into drinking water.
Measure W doesn’t technically ban fluoride, but it would provide another tool to try to keep fluoride out of Santa Maria’s water.
The Santa Maria City Council approved taking outside money to begin fluoridation.
Testing of a fluoride system may start soon despite the measure being on the November ballot. The Santa Maria Citizens for Safe Drinking Water gathered 4,500 petition signatures to put the matter before voters. The number of signatures collected is a clear indication that many Santa Marians just don’t want this chemical coming out of their faucets.
Opponents will cite a state regulation requiring fluoridation if the dollars to do it are available. But city councils and voters, most recently in Watsonville and Redding, have said “no” to fluoride. The law’s provisions and mandates are legally debatable, and California thankfully remains one of the least fluoridated states.
What can happen to one’s body after ingesting too much fluoride?
Many experts say fluoride in high doses is toxic. Research has raised questions about long-term fluoride use, including possible ties to cancer, mental impairment and brittle bones. Researchers also link the chemical to fluorosis, a splotching of the teeth due to weak enamel.
People who believe in fluoride’s value in fighting cavities have a multitude of sources for the chemical besides their drinking water.
Don’t force it on the rest of us.
Vote “yes” on Measure W.
Tell government officials that their obligation is to provide a water supply that is safe and reliable — not to fill drinking water with substances that many people consider a health risk.
The government ought not set out to mass medicate drinking water with fluoride or any other chemical that has nothing to do with keeping water supplies safe.
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