As promised, I will edit this OP with some sources and attempt to answer some questions. I'm curious though why people don't seem to have a problem with this and most would actually prefer fluoride over natural water. I think the real argument here is should Government have the right to dictate which medications are placed in the public drinking water... but here goes.
I'll start with the comments about how fluoride supposedly isn't harmful in the drinking water because there simply isn't enough being added to be a problem.
Source.The research team reports, "It is important to be aware of this serious problem and avoid the use of toothpaste and items that contain fluoride, particularly in children as they are more susceptible to the toxic effects of fluoride." (1)
"Fluoride can be toxic by ingesting one part per million (ppm), and the effects are not immediate, as they can take 20 years or more to become evident," they write.
The problem with that theory is that not only is it impossible to know just how much a person is drinking per day, but also, as this article suggests, the dangerous is that Fluoride accumulates over time. The long-term issues on the pineal gland can be read here:
Source.In the 1990s, a British scientist, Jennifer Luke, discovered that fluoride accumulates to strikingly high levels in the pineal gland. (Luke 2001). The pineal gland is located between the two hemispheres of the brain and is responsible for the synthesis and secretion of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin maintains the body’s circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle), regulates the onset of puberty in females, and helps protect the body from cell damage caused by free radicals.
A theory here, one shared by some universities, is that melatonin disruption could lower immunity to cancer and accelerates aging.
Again, the problem here is that this is not something that's always been done, and it's a highly controversial subject is many areas. But the question remains: As a society, are we not responsible enough to choose which medications (or toxins) are placed in our drinking water, or do we need Government to dictate that? That really needs to be the discussion here. As it is, I find it simply amazing to see people throw around the word conspiracy for even suggesting that drinking natural water is a better solution.
Here are some numbers based on country (including EU):
Source.As of 2002, there was no water fluoridation in China.
Less than 1% of Japan practices water fluoridation.
About 4% of the population of Vietnam has water fluoridation.
Austria has never implemented fluoridation.
Croatia does not fluoridate its water.
Fluoridated salt is available in France, and 3% of the population uses naturally fluoridated water, but the water is not artificially fluoridated.
Drinking water is not fluoridated in any part of Germany.
There is no water fluoridation in Greece.
Around 10% of the population of the United Kingdom receives fluoridated water.
So what we see around the world, aside from a few exceptions, is generally less than 10% of the population received fluoridated water. Now let's look at America:
Source.As of May 2000, 42 of the 50 largest U.S. cities had water fluoridation.[81] In 2010, 66% of all U.S. residents and 74% of U.S. residents with access to community water systems receive fluoridated water.[82] In 2010, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study determined that "40.7% of adolescents aged 12–15 had dental fluorosis [in 1999–2004]".
So why is America being hammered with this stuff while the rest of the world doesn't really seem to care? Australia seems to be in the same boat:
Source.Australia now provides fluoridated water for 70% or more of the population in all states and territories. Many of Australia's drinking water supplies began fluoridation in the 1960s and 1970s. By 1984 almost 66% of the Australian population had access to fluoridated drinking water, represented by 850 towns and cities.