Choice calls for fluoride in bottle water

The Australian Consumers Association has called for manufacturers to be able to add fluoride to some bottled water, saying this would help arrest the dramatic increase in children's tooth decay.

A front page story in The Age today notes that "Australian Beverages Council chief executive Tony Gentile, in Canberra yesterday to lobby the Government to overturn the ban on added fluoride in bottled water, said bottled water was not linked to the increase in children's tooth decay."

"We believe that the industry is unfairly accused of being a contributor to the rising levels of dental decay … It's due to a multiplicity of other factors including poor dental hygiene and the lack of fluoride in some tap water," he said.