Voters divided over water additive

Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2000 | 9:53 a.m.

Supporters of mixing fluoride into Southern Nevada's water are in a statistical dead heat with their opponents, a new poll shows.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority began fluoridating Las Vegas Valley water in March under a 1999 law that required the water agency to use the cavity-preventing compound but gave residents the opportunity to stop the treatment in November.

The compromise arrangement agreed to by pro- and anti-fluoride forces means general election voters in Clark County will be asked to answer the question: "Should the water authority and each public water system in the county that serves a population of 100,000 persons or more cease the fluoridation of the water?"

Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. posed that question to 357 Clark County voters from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12 in a poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and lasvegas.com.

Forty-four percent of respondents said "yes" and 46 percent said "no." Ten percent of those polled were undecided. The poll has a 5.6 percentage-point margin of error.

Confusion over the wording of the question might have contributed to the virtual tie between stopping and continuing fluoridation, Mason-Dixon Managing Director Brad Coker said.

That means the battle over fluoride could be won by the side that mounts the best campaign before the Nov. 7 election, Coker said.

Opponents dislike fluoridation for a variety of reasons. Some believe it results from a chemical company conspiracy and causes medical ailments from AIDS to Alzheimer's disease.

The mainstream medical community has declared fluoridation a safe and effective means of preventing tooth decay, particularly in children.

Proponents say fluoridation is a cost-effective and harmless way to combat many Southern Nevadans' poor dental health. Poor Las Vegas Valley children in particular suffer from an inordinately high rate of tooth decay.