Captive Drinkers A lady writes to ask me if I
can do anything to deter the authorities in Watford, Kilmarnock, Anglesey and Darlington from putting fluorine in the municipal water supply. This sort of challenge to one's chivalry is always difficult to resist; and although the damsel, since she lives in Somerset, is not herself in distress, I respect her desire to uphold `the right of the individual to decide what poison he wishes to swallow and how much of it.' Fluorine, the dictionary tells me, is ' a non- metallic element grouped with bromine, chlorine and iodine,' and, apart from not sounding very appetising, is 1 believe used as an ingredient in one of the more effective kinds of rat poison. Its supposed ability to prevent the teeth from decaying has latterly been called in question by both doctors and dentists. The Dental Practitioner of August, 1953, stated that fluorine is accumulated in the body and never eliminated; and some dentists hold that, although it may harden the enamel on your teeth, you will lose them earlier than you otherwise would have because of its toxic effect on the tissues; its use has been described by one authority as a calculated risk, with the rider that few people are qualified to make the calculation. Be all that as it may, I should have thought that a citizen who pays thg water rate has a right to be supplied with water, not water lated with a non-metallic element possessing toxic properties. I await with composure a storm of protest from fluorine-addicts.
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