But these objections become more reasonable the more one understands the nature of fluoride. Fluoride is the term used to indicate a wide variety of substances containing the element fluorine. Fluorine is the most negatively charged and most chemically active of all elements on earth. Contrary to the mythical public image, fluoride substances are prized by commercial, agricultural, pharmaceutical and military interests for their extreme corrosivity, high toxicity, ability to inhibit enzyme activity and ability to disrupt and re-configure molecular bonds. In agriculture, fluoride is the key ingredient in the world's most widely used insecticides and pesticides.
Sodium fluoride is a powerful roach killer and rat poison.
In medicine, fluoride is used in most general anesthetics and in many psychotropic drugs. In the military, fluoride is used to separate uranium isotopes in the production of nuclear warheads, in rocket fuels and in certain types of nerve gas. Since the mid 1940s, fluoride has been added to municipal drinking water systems in approximately half of the cities in the United States for the alleged purpose of reducing tooth decay in children. Ingested fluoride is, however, linked to health risks. They cited scientific evidence of fluoride's link to increased risk of hip fracture, cancers, bone pathologies, genetic mutation, and neurological impairment, including lower IQ in children.