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@Beernut: Personally, I would like to see those ingredients listed but I'm not sure how practical that would be, and would they be present in the same levels as fluoride do you know?
Also, would they be accumulative in the same way as artificial fluoride? I don't know myself.

@Drjohn: The components of Hydrofluorosilicic acid are available from sources other than myself. The heavy metals in its composition are much more than trace levels, unfortunately.

Thanks for the replies and opinions, everyone. I appreciate the interest and time.
I was specifically interested in how craft beer drinkers felt about this subject and was curious as to whether a person might ever choose a beer with fluoridated water over one without it.
There are loads of pro/anti fluoride sites providing differing views on the subject and with many distinguished and well qualified experts offering opposing opinions.

Just so there is no doubt, there is no proven or even suspected link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the originator of this claim Andrew Wakefield has been struck off after his research was proven to be fraudulent. Anyone who doesn't get their children vaccinated is being very selfish, they are bringing down the "herd immunity" which is very important for those who are unable to get vaccinated.

MMR causing autism is nothing more than a scare tactic used to sell newspapers and quack cures. I am not as familiar with the anti-fluoridation campaigns, but a quick google seems to show that a lot of the same type of of pseudo-science is used to make points against. I'm willing to bet there's some newspaper selling/money making quack behind it somewhere.

Thanks for that, Brian. I actually have no interest in, nor knowledge of, the MMR issue.
It's interesting to contemplate that in a country like Ireland ( the only remaining EU country with mandatory fluoridation) a person can be dismissed as anti-science for being anti-fluoride yet in another country, say Israel last week, mandatory fluoridation is being discontinued due to scientific evidence.
Fluoride has many dental benefits but if you can demonstrate a single benefit to be gained be ingesting it I'm sure many science journals would be happy to publish it.
Thanks for the contribution.

@agnosticdave - you're not being dismissed for being anti-science because you're anti-fluoride. In fact, I don't think you're being dismissed at all. You are however being challenged to produce the scientific evidence that supports your position.

Science has a long, proud record of challenging established wisdom using empirical evidence - its kinda what science is all about <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) --> . Its quite possible to be anti-fluoride and pro-science!!!

&amp;quot;brian_c&amp;quot;:3cdasm3i wrote: Just so there is no doubt, there is no proven or even suspected link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the originator of this claim Andrew Wakefield has been struck off after his research was proven to be fraudulent. Anyone who doesn't get their children vaccinated is being very selfish, they are bringing down the "herd immunity" which is very important for those who are unable to get vaccinated.

MMR causing autism is nothing more than a scare tactic used to sell newspapers and quack cures. I am not as familiar with the anti-fluoridation campaigns, but a quick google seems to show that a lot of the same type of of pseudo-science is used to make points against. I'm willing to bet there's some newspaper selling/money making quack behind it somewhere.[/quote:3cdasm3i]
+1
We asked several GPs and a few paediatricians when we had to make the choice and it appears that every paediatrician in the country was giving their kids the MMR so that was good enough for me. Apparently the Wakefield study that raised the issue had less than 15 subjects and was extremely unscientific. There's a very definite hereditary link however

&amp;quot;agnosticdave&amp;quot;:1t22xp1a wrote: The artificial fluoride Ireland uses in its water is Hydrofluorosilicic acid which is made up of arsenic, aluminum, lead and mercury. [/quote:1t22xp1a]
Is that 'made up of' in the same way that table salt is made up of sodium and chlorine? Or is it actually made up of?