Lismore City Council votes 6-5 to fluoridate water, disgusts community

(http://www.abc.net.au) The City Council of Lismore, Australia, recently angered residents there after voting 6-5 to fluoridate the water supply.

Out of the 100 or so people who showed up at the meeting, one protestor ended up throwing his shoe in the middle of the chamber to show his disgust for the Council's decision.

The city previously voted 6-5 against fluoridating their water supply in August, but that was overturned when a September vote ended 6-5 in support of fluoridation.

Most of the Council members do not have a scientific background and likely don't understand all of the documentation on the subject that has been sent to them by both sides of the debate. Previous surveys by the Department of Health showing community support for fluoride are dubious and flawed. "They ended up phoning 27 people in this local government area and asking them if they supported putting fluoride in the water supply for improving people's dental health," Councillor Vanessa Ekins said. 27 people in an area is not representative of the entire community, and the survey did not give adequate information to those polled for them to be able to make an informed, unbiased decision.

Another motion that was passed 6-5, put forward by Councillor Neil Marks, passes the responsibility of making future decisions and directing fluoridation to the state government. Now, even if the majority of the community and the Council were in favor of removing fluoride from their own water, they would be unable to make that decision for themselves.