The Fluoride Wars
How a Modest Public Health Measure Became America's Longest Running Political Melodrama
Published on 14. May 2009
400 pages
978-0-470-46367-3 (ISBN)
Description
A lively account of fluoridation and its discontents
Since its first implementation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in1945, public drinking water fluoridation and its attendantconflicts, controversies, and conspiracy theories serve as anobject lesson in American science, public health, and policymaking.In addition to the arguments on the issue still raging today, thetale of fluoridation and its discontents also resonates with suchpresent concerns as genetically modified foods, global warmingresponse, nuclear power, and environmental regulation.
Offering the best current thinking on the issue, The FluorideWars presents a witty and detailed social history of thefluoridation debate in America, illuminating the intersection ofscience and politics in our recent past. This reader-friendlyassessment explores the pro- and anti-fluoridation movements, keyplayers, and important events. Full of amusing and vivid anecdotesand examples, this accessible recounting includes:
* A careful and non-condescending look at the hard science,popular science, pseudo-science, and junk science involved
* A look at fluoride issues including dosage, cost, financial andfunding interests, fluorosis, and problems of risk-cost-benefitanalysis
* The back-and-forth drama between pro- and anti-fluoridationfactions, with all its claims, counterclaims, insults, acrimony,and lawsuits
* Case studies of various cities and their experiences withmunicipal water fluoridation initiatives
* Fluorophobia and popular conspiracy theories involvingfluoride
* The colorful characters in the debate including activists,scientists, magicians, and politicians
A richly and considerately told tale of American science andpublic life, The Fluoride Wars offers an engrossing history to bothinterested general readers and specialists in public health,dentistry, policymaking, and related fields.
Reviews / Votes
"The authors have put an enormous effort into acquiring the data inthis book and... it is a very interesting and stimulating read."(Chromatographia, June 2010) "The authors should be commended for providing all of thefacts of the controversy in one place. Their call for both sides toget together to study the health issues with reason and respect isalso a worthwhile goal because, as they point out; perhaps then'this long-standing and somewhat silly dispute could finallyhe laid to rest.'" (Chemical and EngineeringNews, September 2009)More details
Other editions
Additional editions
R. Allan Freeze | Jay H. Lehr
The Fluoride Wars
How a Modest Public Health Measure Became America's Longest-Running Political Melodrama
Book
04/2009
1st Edition
Wiley
€55.00
Article not available at the moment
R. Allan Freeze | Jay H. Lehr
The Fluoride Wars - How a Modest Public Health Measure Became Americas Longest-Running Political Melodrama
Software
10/2008
Wiley
€69.42
No shipping information available
Persons
R. Allan Freeze is one of North America's leading researchers inthe field of environmental water quality, and has acted as theconsulting engineer on drinking water quality at a number of sitesacross North America. He was a member of the University of BritishColumbia's engineering faculty in Vancouver for twenty years and isthe author of over 150 technical articles and the coauthor ofseveral books.
Jay H. Lehr is Senior Scientist with The Heartland Institute andChief Scientist for EarthWater Global, an international watersupply company. A graduate of Princeton University, he developedthe first PhD program in hydrology at the University of Arizona andwas on the faculty at The Ohio State University. Lehr has authoredor coauthored over twenty books, hundreds of journal and magazinearticles, and is an internationally renowned expert who speaksworldwide on environmental topics.
Content
CHAPTER 1: A STORY OF OUR TIMES.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Four O'Clock Eastern Wartime.
The Longest-Running Circus in Town.
Pro or Con?
CHAPTER 2: A CLASH OF ABSOLUTES.
Dueling Websites.
Quack, Quack.
The $100,000 Cash Offer.
As One Voice.
Who Drinks Fluoridated Water and Who Doesn't.
Fear and Loathing.
Fluoridation Facts, Dr. Y, and the Lifesavers Guide.
What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate.
CHAPTER 3: A TALE OF TWO CITIES.
Spokane, Washington.
Cumberland, Maryland.
Fluoridation, 2000.
The Push for Statewide Mandates.
On the Phone and in the Booth.
The Early Studies: Social Dynamics and Pop Psychology.
The Later Studies: Just Plain Politics.
Spokane and Cumberland: Reprise.
CHAPTER 4: TWO WOMEN.
Darlene Sherrell: The Canary in the Mine.
Jackie Speier and the Legacy of Jonestown.
The California Mandate.
San Diego, Escondido and the Golden Fleece.
CHAPTER 5: THE ROAD TO FLUORIDATION.
Beautiful Women and Black Teeth.
Frederick McKay and the Mystery of Colorado Stain.
H. Trendley Dean and the Towns without Toothaches.
Lathered Up to Go.
Little Girls in Gingham Dresses.
Fluoride on Trial.
Blind Examiners and Confounding Factors.
The Mavericks Emerge.
CHAPTER 6: FLUOROPHOBIA.
Satan's Metal.
ALCOAnoia.
Toxic Coup?
The Donora Death Fog.
Project F.
The Far Side.
Let There Be Light: An Assessment of Anti-Fluoridation Conspiracy Claims.
The Perils of Obsession.
CHAPTER 7: LOOK, MA. NO CAVITIES: FLUORIDE AND TEETH.
Teeth.
The People's Disease.
Reversal of Misfortune.
The Fluoride Cycle: From Apatite to Apatite.
How Fluoride Works.
More Studies and Diminishing Returns.
The Halo Effect.
Flossers and Cheeseheads.
The Back of the Coin: The Observed Increase in Dental Fluorosis.
The Bottom Line on Fluoride and Teeth.
CHAPTER 8: FLUORIDE AND HEALTH.
Exposure, Intake, and Dose.
The Roots of Contention.
Acute Fluoride Poisoning.
Kaj Roholm's Legacy.
The Tragedy of Crippling Skeletal Fluorosis.
Fluoride as Medicine: The Osteoporosis Experiments.
Bone Health and Hip Fractures: Legitimate Questions and Equivocal Answers.
The Special Case of Kidney Dialysis.
Allergic Reactions and Psychological Distress.
Affairs of the Heart.
Fluoride and Genetics.
Fluoride, Cancer, and Credibility.
The Osteosarcoma Controversy.
Alzheimers, Intelligence, Crime, and Addiction.
CHAPTER 9: EPA AND THE MCLs.
Fluoride as Jekyl and Hyde.
Brinksmanship.
Amicus Curiae.
The Marcus Affair.
A Question of Allegiance.
A Question of Motive.
CHAPTER 10: RIDING THE TIGER: THE DOSAGE ISSUE.
The Concept of a Maximum Acceptable Daily Dose.
Fluoride Intake in Our Diet.
Do Not Swallow.
Contesting Conventional Wisdom.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
CHAPTER 11: SCIENCE AND NOT SCIENCE.
Junk Science: Values and Bias in Scientific Research.
Single-minded Science: The ISFR and the Journal Fluoride.
The Shunning of Phyllis Mullinex.
John Colquhoun Falls Off the Wagon.
Science, Funding, and Self-Interest.
Fluoridation in the Courts: The Anti-fluoridationists' Last Stand.
The Congressional Pulpit.
CHAPTER 12: MONEY, MOTIVE, AND RISK.
The Uneasy Science of Risk-Cost-Benefit Analysis.
The Cost of Fluoridation.
The Wrangle Over Benefits.
The Ultimate Battleground.
Engineered Systems and Human Error.
The Concept of Acceptable Risk.
The Precursors.
Public Health or Home Remedy?
The Bottom Line on the Economics of Fluoridation.
CHAPTER 13: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
Teeth.
Health Risk.
Dosage.
Credibility.
The Need for Civil Discourse.
