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Griffin M, Shickle D et al. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2008; 36: 95–102

The decision whether or not to fluoridate water supplies 'remains polarised' and therefore there is no steer for policy makers. As part of a larger study exploring a range of public health policies, 68 focus groups (qualitative research) in 16 EU countries were asked to explore the sometimes competing views between public and individual interest for water fluoridation.

Most participants were against water fluoridation although groups in Greece, Ireland, Poland, and Sweden were more in favour. Generally it was considered that the potential side effects outweighed the benefit for the minority. Individual comments were cited in the paper, such as '...they will put downers in the water as well' from a young male who lived in Liege with no children nor further education and '...it is like shooting sparrows with cannons' from a Viennese male with children and a standard education.