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Letter to the Editor: Follow health groups on fluoride

Dear Editor, I would like to congratulate Bill Hanson for his 19 years of service on Flin Flon city council.
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Dear Editor,

I would like to congratulate Bill Hanson for his 19 years of service on Flin Flon city council. However, as commendable as Bill’s service was, there were times we disagreed and one such time was during the decision to remove fluoride from our drinking water. He regards this as a high point of his career, but as the lone dissenting voice on council it was a low point in mine.

In the Nov. 7 issue of The Reminder and the story “Hanson steps down after 19 years,” Bill states that the World Health Organization (WHO) is against fluoride, but if you check their website it is obvious that this statement is incorrect. What the WHO says is that fluoride can have both beneficial and negative effects. If the fluoride, which occurs naturally in water, is above the safe level, it can cause dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. The WHO recommends that, in this situation, the fluoride should be reduced to the safe level.

However, if the naturally occurring level of fluoride is too low, the WHO recommends adding fluoride to the safe level, which will result in the reduction of dental cavities, especially in children.

So, if Flin Flon city council was to take the advice of the World Health Organization it would resume adding fluoride to the drinking water.

Skip Martin

Flin Flon, Man.

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