Sigh. By the end of next year this will be our Council: Whangārei District Council votes 7-6 against adding fluoride to water supply | RNZ News.
Double sigh, as if following the US were a good idea, especially these days:
A spokesperson for Fluoride Free, a group against fluoridation, praised the decision.
Mary Byrne and WDC councillors cited recent court rulings in the United States as justification for their concerns about fluoride in water.
@pratik Ever since Covid really we've had a bunch of crazies who are becoming increasingly vocal. I guess fluoride has been a hot topic even longer than that…
@Miraz wow, that’s really bad, and surprising. However bad the UK is with Farage and a million and one other frothing rightwingers and conspiracy theorists, we’re miles away from this sort of thing.
(Famous last words.)
@kjz We do have some really good stuff going on as well around different issues, thank goodness. Disappointing to see this stuff take hold in a place we're moving to in the next year though.
@Miraz seems your government and our government have bought into all the "scary scary" stuff now. Our idiots in Canberra just passed the bill to ban kids under 16 from social media, which in principle seems smart, however, it opens the door for a national age verification system, which opens many other doors which are actually scary and harmful.
@matjpacker I worry about those kids that have problems at home, with this, also those who have physical limitations, and that need contact with someone else within their age group.
@odd seemingly, parents can allow their kids to have access without punishment, which of course creates haves and have-nots, which of course creates another opportunity for a clique to isolate other kids... And that's not even considering kids in difficult parenting situations, the foster system, etc.
@matjpacker We're one year in (of 3) to a coalition of right, right and nutcase. They're dismantling NZ as fast as they can.
@KimberlyHirsh I think a lot of Kiwis are very sorry… I just hope that in a couple of years they're out on their ears.
@Miraz i was discussing this a few days ago. My teeth are strong as ever but my kids had to get crowns before their 12th birthdays. The difference? I grew up drinking tap water from the City of ST Louis Water System. They spent the first years of their lives in Tokyo where no fluoride is added.
@starrwulfe Hah. I don't know when we started getting fluoride in our water here, but I constantly had fillings as a child. It seems to me the dental professionals all think it's an evidence based good idea so it should be done.
