USA - Voters support eliminating fluoride

KENNEBUNK — Customers of the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells Water District voted Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to the public water supply.

The wording of the question mandated by the state read, “Shall fluoride be added to the public water supply for the intended purpose of reducing tooth decay?”

Residents of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells, Ogunquit, Arundel, Biddeford Pool and Fortune’s Rocks and the Cape Neddick section of York voted on the referendum question.

Kennebunk voted 4,842 no to 2,571 yes, Kennebunkport voted 16,79 no to 792 yes, and Wells votes tallied 4,436 no to 2,245 yes. Ogunquit votes totaled 537 no to 330 yes, and Arundel voted out fluoride 1,692 to 800. Biddeford Pool narrowly voted to eliminate fluoride with 149 no votes and 129 yes, and York Beach voters were the only ones to support water fluoridation by a one vote margin, with 51 yes votes, and 50 no votes, according to unofficial results.

The Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District has been adding fluoride to the water since 2004.

The Campaign to Reconsider Water Fluoridation, a group of customers of KKWWD, collected enough petition signatures to get the question on the November ballot to put a stop to the current practice of adding fluoride.

Janice Hanson, organizer of the citizen’s group The Campaign to Reconsider Water Fluoridation said the group brought the issue before voters because they felt strongly that fluoride added to the drinking water is an unnecessary toxin that should not be ingested.

Labbe said the Water District board of trustees decided in February to pursue the possibility of removing fluoride from the water supply of the towns it serves and began working with the citizen’s group to educate the public ahead of the November vote.