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Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

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41–50 of 55 posts

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#41
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I think what you're trying to say is that it's an international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids?

Anytime anybody brings up fluoride somebody else brings up Dr. StrangeLove, it might as well be a knock knock joke. I wish people would actually look into the science. People thought DDT was unquestionably great too.

I must confess, you have an astonishingly good idea there.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#42
post #33

I must admit, I railed against adding Flouride for many years, mostly from a liberty / choice perspective, before finally accepting almost a century of scientific evidence and becoming a supporter. I need to know more about the science, both positive and negative effects, before doing the same here, but it is a nifty precendent. As with fluoride, I wouldn't want my community to be the first to test it - perhaps if I…

I wouldn't want my community to be the first to test it At the levels they are talking about, it seems like there are communities who for decades or longer have been "testing" drinking water with the proposed levels of lithium. Of course, that's assuming that the deliberately introduced lithium is in the same form, with the same chemical availability. I would hope that would be a requirement if anyone actually decide…

True. I know we had issues where I am (Brisbane, Australia) when fluoride was introduced. There was a lot of trial and error in ensuring the right amount made it into the water supply (not too little or too much), although the errors made (that we found out about at least) were all well within 'safe' levels.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#43
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... swallowing a toothpaste tube's worth of fluoride can kill a child ... Er. That's a pretty big logical fallacy. Almost every substance ingested in huge quantities is lethal, including salt and caffeine.

They don't put salt or caffeine in your tap water. If they're going to make you drink something daily for a lifetime without your informed consent, I expect some reason better than cutting down a few bucks of dental care expenses. The fluoride is in enough concentration to be effective in the brief time it passes through your mouth (that's the idea, isn't it? Or is it supposed to somehow work systemically after inges…

Dental caries can kill - that's how the guy that played Lorne on Angel died - so we're talking about more than "cutting down on a few bucks of dental care expenses".

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#44
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bioethics attracts all the weirdos who want to propose really off the wall crazy crap, like drugging the water supply, and call it "ethics". Let's take a look at the Table of Contents of the Journal of Bioethics shall we ( http://www.bioethics.net/journal/ ) * Should Human Beings Have Sex? Sexual Dimorphism and Human Enhancement * The Risks of “Sexual Normalcy” * Humans Should Be Free of All Biological Limitations In…

Haha. That is amazing. I thought "Bioethics attracts all the weirdos who want to propose really off the wall crazy crap" until I read that list. People actually get paid to write stuff like that?

An anything-ethicist is someone who failed in that field but still thinks they ought to get a say in what gets funded. Ignore them.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#45
The bullshit is strong in this one. Look, I have 4 data points, 2 each in some very psychotic societies. We are going to extrapolate to the entire world and then try and add some psychoactive substances to their water. Seriously, I've been near a couple of politicians - we can totally pull this off.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#46
post #44
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha. That is amazing. I thought "Bioethics attracts all the weirdos who want to propose really off the wall crazy crap" until I read that list. People actually get paid to write stuff like that?

An anything-ethicist is someone who failed in that field but still thinks they ought to get a say in what gets funded. Ignore them.

I can't build (for example) a doomsday device that will eliminate all life on Earth. I still think I should be allowed to disagree with the building of one.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#47
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An anything-ethicist is someone who failed in that field but still thinks they ought to get a say in what gets funded. Ignore them.

I can't build (for example) a doomsday device that will eliminate all life on Earth. I still think I should be allowed to disagree with the building of one.

But you shouldn't have the right to block research that could hypothetically one day lay the groundwork for building such a device. Otherwise let's shut all the physics labs tomorrow.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#48
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An anything-ethicist is someone who failed in that field but still thinks they ought to get a say in what gets funded. Ignore them.

I can't build (for example) a doomsday device that will eliminate all life on Earth. I still think I should be allowed to disagree with the building of one.

Alright, let's ignore research because it complicates the matter. Correct doomsday device scenario to "I've never carried out genocide, but I still think I should be able to disagree with it."

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#49
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't put salt or caffeine in your tap water. If they're going to make you drink something daily for a lifetime without your informed consent, I expect some reason better than cutting down a few bucks of dental care expenses. The fluoride is in enough concentration to be effective in the brief time it passes through your mouth (that's the idea, isn't it? Or is it supposed to somehow work systemically after inges…

Dental caries can kill - that's how the guy that played Lorne on Angel died - so we're talking about more than "cutting down on a few bucks of dental care expenses".

Dental caries can be prevented by flossing your teeth, then spitting (most of) the fluoride out.

Or even better, by avoiding sugar and eating calcium rich vegetables.

Re: Bioethicist proposes adding lithium to US drinking water

#50
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dental caries can kill - that's how the guy that played Lorne on Angel died - so we're talking about more than "cutting down on a few bucks of dental care expenses".

Dental caries can be prevented by flossing your teeth, then spitting (most of) the fluoride out. Or even better, by avoiding sugar and eating calcium rich vegetables.

Certainly, but that doesn't change the point that saying it's about "cutting down on a few bucks" is overly downplaying the potential benefit.
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