‘Inadmissable and Cruel’: Fear and Risk in Britain’s Post-War Fluoride Debate

‘Inadmissable and Cruel’: Fear and Risk in Britain’s Post-War Fluoride Debate
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Nicolson Street

Wednesday at 4:30 PM (BST)

Speaker: Prof Glen O’Hara (Oxford Brookes University)


After WWII, British doctors and politicians thought that they could import the perfect solution for dental illness: drinking water fluoridation. But the campaigns they faced brought together the libertarian Right, the socialist Left, advocates of ‘real foods’ and the nascent Green movement. Anti-fluoridisers campaigned for ‘freedom’ against an interfering government, amid medical scandals such as the Thalidomide tragedy. This paper will use the controversy to explore the historical relationship between the body, civil rights, consumerism, the citizenry and the medical profession.


Refreshments at 4pm, seminar starts at 4.30pm.

Please note this EHMG talk will be held in the Symposium Hall at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The Symposium Hall can be accessed via the main college entrance, or for those with mobility issues, via Hill Square.