Wading into the decades-old debate of whether adding fluoride to municipal tap water is a cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay, the City of Calgary is just the latest Canadian community to think it is an outdated practice that could be toxic.

After getting a number of letters and reports from people in the medical profession, Alderman Druh Farrell has initiated a motion to stop adding fluoride saying, 'I thought it was important to look at the issue again, and the more I researched it, I started questioning the ethics of fluoride based on some of these potential health concerns.'

These concerns have led to some small sectors of society, including children under one, people undergoing dialysis and those with osteoporosis, being urged not to consume fluoridated water.

Widely debated across the country and around the world for many years, Brantford, Ont., was the first Canadian community to fluoridate its water in 1945, with 40% of Canadians drinking fluoridated water according to Health Canada.

Last year, the City of Hamilton by a narrow margin decided to continue to fluoridate the city's water supply, while reducing the compound levels. Recently, after council reviewed information critical about fluoridation, Drayton Valley, Alta. decided to stop the practice, while the City of Montreal has never fluoridated its waters. As for Calgary, after numerous plebiscites on the issue, it only introduced water fluoridization in 1991.

While, some dentists argue that fluoridation of the water supply helps strengthen teeth against decay, and is of importance to children belonging to poorer families, who do not have access to dental care or fluoridated toothpaste, taking that into account, Farrell suggests $75,000 a year be spent sending fluoride rinses and toothpastes to those who can't afford them. Currently, it costs the city $60,000 a year to add fluoride to the water, with $5-million required to upgrade the system.

Opposing fluoridation, vocal groups cite studies from India, China, Brazil and other countries that suggest a link between fluoride and a number of health problems, such as, the negative effect of fluoride on the brain and other organs, could lower children's IQs.

To be debated on Monday, five city councillors are in favor of the bill going in, while eight agree the practice should end, with the provincial government being requested to change the city's water license.