CLARK COUNTY QUESTION NO. 1

Water Fluoridation Question

Should the water authority and each public water system in this county that serves a population of 100,000 persons or more cease the fluoridation of the water?

EXPLANATION

The 1999 Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 284 directing the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the City of Henderson to begin fluoridating water on March 1, 2000. The fluoridation takes place at the treatment facilities owned by these entities, which provide over 90% of the water used in the Las Vegas Valley. In accordance with regulations established by the Nevada State Health Division, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the City of Henderson maintain the fluoride level at not less than 0.7 milligrams per liter and not more than 1.2 milligrams per liter.

To provide Clark County citizens the choice of whether to continue fluoridation of water, Assembly Bill 284 also required that this ballot question be placed before the voters at the November 2000 General Election.

If a majority of the voters vote "yes" on this question, the act directing fluoridation of water will expire on January 1, 2001, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the City of Henderson will then stop fluoridating the water delivered for public consumption in Clark County.

If a majority of the voters vote "no" on this question, the act directing fluoridation of water will remain in place and the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the City of Henderson will continue to fluoridate the water delivered for public consumption in Clark County.

ARGUMENT ADVOCATING PASSAGE

Fluoride is currently added to our drinking water at most valley sources. You must vote "yes" on Clark County Question 1 to stop water fluoridation. The reasons why you should consider voting "yes" to cease fluoridation of our drinking water include the following:

The citizen’s right to choose is taken away when fluoride is added to drinking water.

Every citizen should have the right to drink water without concern for drugs or chemicals that are not required for water purification.

Water fluoridation is mass medication.

There are fluoride alternatives for those who want to use them despite the serious government warnings on the labels. See the back of your toothpaste tube. They include for example, fluoridated toothpaste, dental sealants, and mouthwash preparations.

The International Journal of Fluoride has published an increasing number of scientific research studies on fluoride that indicate fluoride, even at low levels, can cause health problems. See, www.fluoride-journal.com.

The intent of water fluoridation is to help with the dental health of children. In the process, those with liver, kidney, stomach, throat and other health problems were not considered. Fluoride is a highly toxic substance.

The long term health effects of drinking water fluoridation that are known indicate that our citizens are participating in a medical experiment without their informed consent. That is an ethical and legal issue that should not be forced on anyone.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not found fluoride to be safe and effective. See www.noflouride.com.

Remember! You must vote "yes" on Clark County Question 1, "yes" if you want to cease or stop water fluoridation.

ARGUMENT OPPOSING QUESTION

To keep fluoride in our water, vote "no" on Clark County Question 1.

Our water supply has been fluoridated since March 1. A "no" vote on this measure will continue to protect us against dental decay.

There are sound health reasons why fluoridated water is used in more than 10,000 communities nationwide, including all major cities, and protects more than 150 million Americans against tooth decay.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said, "Fluoridation is the single most important commitment that a community can make to the oral health of its citizens." Fluoridation of water is the most cost-effective method for the prevention of tooth decay. Fluoride for our water supply costs less than 25 cents annually per resident.

Contrast that to the high cost of treating tooth decay. The annual average cost for dental services for Americans in need of dental care is $300 per person.

Dental problems are among the top seven reasons children are treated at the publicly-supported University Medical Center. Physicians say those problems can be severe and permanently disabling.

Along with pasteurization, water purification, and immunization, fluoridation is considered one of the most important public health measures of the 20th century.

Community water fluoridation is the single most effective and efficient means of preventing cavities in children and adults, regardless of education or income level, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Studies indicate that fluoridated water reduces cavities by 60 percent in baby teeth and by up to 35 percent in adult teeth.

Drinking fluoridated water is not harmful. It has been added to public water supplies since 1945 without ill effect. Fluoridation has been proven to be medically safe in numerous studies over the past half century.

Fluoridation is endorsed by all major medical associations in the United States, including the American Medical Association, American Dental Association, American Cancer Society, American Veterinary Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Public Health Service.

The Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports, has observed: "The simple truth is that there’s no scientific controversy over the safety of fluoridation. The practice is safe, economical, and beneficial. The survival of this fake controversy represents one of the major triumphs of quackery over science in our generation."

Fluoridation should not be a political issue. It is a matter of public health.

Vote "no" on Clark County Question 1 to keep our water fluoridated.

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT ADVOCATING QUESTION

Adding fluoride to water is like adding vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to food to improve everyone’s health.

We add chlorine to water to prevent dysentery, vitamin C to fruit juices to prevent scurvy, vitamin D to milk to prevent rickets, and iodine to salt to prevent goiter.

People who wish to avoid fluoridated water can use a simple reverse osmosis process to remove it or drink bottled water.

Because fluoride is not a drug, it is not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the FDA calls it safe and effective in fighting cavities.

"Regular daily dental hygiene, including brushing with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing, and an adequate intake of fluoride, preferably from fluoridated water, will help you prevent tooth decay," the FDA states in its Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

According to Consumer Reports, "Of all the numerous ills that have been attributed to fluoridation none has even been shown to be valid." For more on the benefits of fluoridation see www.ada.org or www.cdc.gov.

Good dental health is vital to overall health. Fluoridation gives a big bang for the public health buck.

Vote "no" on Clark County Question 1 to keep fluoride in our water.

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT OPPOSING QUESTION

Every citizen should have the right to a water supply free from any drug or chemical not required for purification. Freedom of choice concerning health matters, as long as it doesn’t infringe upon the rights of others, is essential and fluoride violates the freedom of choice by mass medicating the public water supply.

Numerous scientific studies have tied fluoride to hip fractures, skeletal fluorosis, osteoporosis and cancer. Six studies alone in the Journal of the American Medical Association found dramatic links to hip fractures.

There is no proof that fluoride will prevent tooth decay. In fact, a study of 39,000 schoolchildren conducted by dentists trained by the National Institute of Dental Research found tooth decay virtually the same in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas.

Fluoridating our entire water supply is not cost effective. We are fluoridating more golf courses, trees and swimming pools than people.

The union representing the scientists, researchers and attorneys of the EPA, opposes fluoridation based on "the scientific literature documenting the increasingly out-of-control exposures to fluoride, the lack of benefit to dental health from ingestion of fluoride and the hazards to human health from such ingestion."

More than thirty-five cities have rejected fluoride in their water supplies, three as recently as March of 2000.