Recently, our misinformed Columbian editorial board “jeered” the majority voters in Portland for voting against fluoridation of their drinking water. The Columbian further compounded this misinformation with another pro-fluoride type column by Don Brunell. Left out was Europe, where most countries have dropped their use of fluoridation. Also left out is the important study at Harvard showing that fluorides in drinking water appear “to increase by as much as sevenfold, the risk of young boys getting cancer.”
Canadian Dental Association scientists learned ingested fluorides absorbed from the stomach via drinking water don’t help teeth. They found out the benefit is topical, where “it attacks the enzymes in cavity-causing bacteria.” Vancouver people daily drink gallons of water so that perhaps 5 percent of it touches the teeth while their entire bodies bear the burden of potential fluoride poisoning. Much of this information comes from an extensively documented book, “The Fluoride Deception,” by Christopher Bryson.
We rightly depend on The Columbian to give us unbiased facts on issues. I will work for having Vancouver halt fluoridation of drinking water. Portland voters were right.
Paul Christensen
Vancouver
