Columnist Susan Snyder: Fluoride debate must end

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 8:06 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Tuesdays, Sundays and Fridays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

Praises be, it's Election Day!

The political landscape soon will be swept clear of annoying television ads, banal campaign declarations and tedious debates. We now can focus on the real issues, like what George W. was actually trying to say about, well, anything.

But best of all the incessant whining over fluoride in Clark County's water may finally be over. Oh, dare we hope?

For those who just moved here yesterday or have successfully ignored this whole ridiculous debate, a vast number of Clark County residents fear the addition of cavity-fighting fluoride to our public water supply. A question on today's ballot allows residents to decide whether to continue doing it.

Proponents, county health officials and the American Dental Association among them, say it helps fight cavities. And fluoridated water is important to people who lack the insurance or money to pay for dental care.

Some opponents consider fluoride a highly toxic substance. Others oppose the government adding anything to our water. Still others oppose the government -- period.

Yeah, the decision seems a no-brainer to me, too. I just hope after today there will be some moaning and griping left for the stuff that truly threatens Nevadans' health.

Let's see some outrage over the fact that 31.5 percent of Nevadans smoke, giving us yet another notable national distinction. We have the highest smoking rate in the country. Even tobacco-growing Kentucky has a lower rate. Bully for us! We're stupider than Kentucky. (Put that on your Neonopolis T-shirt).

And you have to wonder whether those fearing kidney damage, bone damage, brain damage and other mythical damages are the same people who let their kids roll around town on bicycles and skateboards without helmets.

Over at the skate park on Spring Mountain Road last Saturday, some dad stood watching from the sidelines as his kid raced bare-headed around solid concrete on a skateboard. In one afternoon that kid ran a far more significant risk of massive brain damage than a kid who drinks fluoridated water every single day.

Now look out the window and admire the brown pall hanging over the valley.

"We still exceed the national standard for carbon monoxide and particulate matter (dust)," Jennifer Sizemore, Clark County Public Health District spokeswoman, said.

It would help if we'd cut down on idling traffic and traffic in general by finding alternatives to single-occupant car trips. But we're still riding around alone in our piggy Ford Aspersions and such. Seems many of us still think a "car pool" is a place to wash the truck.

Oh, but keep those fluoride willyworms at bay, by golly. We're afraid of those.

Figures from UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research show Nevada still is among the worst for the percentage of children without health insurance. Our high school dropout rate is embarrassing, and we still out-rank most states in the rate of teen pregnancies.

But it's Election Day. The Great Fluoride Debate soon will be ended.

Praises be.

We have real work to do.