Judge backs Southampton fluoridation scheme
Plans to add fluoride to the water supply in Southampton have been backed by a High Court Judge, despite public anger.
Mr Justice Holman has rejected a challenge to the planned fluoridation scheme and refused to carry out a judicial review of the decision making process. Southampton grandmother Geraldine Milner had taken the case to court claiming that a review was needed because the decision to add fluoride to the water had been taken against public will.
Hampshire council, along with around two thirds of residents, were against the move to add fluoride to the water, claiming that it could potentially be harmful; however, dentists in the area backed the scheme, saying it would help to improve oral health and reduce rates of decay in the area.
Mr Justice Holman said that there had been no irregularities in the decision making process, as Parliament granted health authorities the option to add fluoride to the water a long time ago. There is no law that states that there must be a majority vote for fluoridation to go ahead.
At the moment only 10 percent of England’s water supplies are fluoridated; most areas with fluoridated water are located in the North East and the Midlands. In recent years, there has been increasingly strong objection to the use of fluoride, as many people believe adding fluoride to communal water supplies contravenes individual rights as they have no choice whether or not they drink fluoridated water; some people have also raised concerns about the health implications of fluoride.
The British Dental Association has backed the decision, claiming that fluoridated water helps to protect the teeth and reduce rates of decay.
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