Water fluoridation
Health and dental organizations worldwide have endorsed its safety and effectiveness. Its use began in 1945, following studies of children in a region where higher levels of fluoride occur naturally in the water. Further research showed that moderate fluoridation prevents tooth decay.
William Guy Carr
In the 1950s, both organisations fought communism and were involved in a campaign against water fluoridation (brochure, 1956; articles about the topic were also published in "News Behind the News" in 1958). The historian Daniel Pipes studied that particular case and mentioned that "in the 1950s, the National Federation of Christian Laymen portrayed fluorine as the 'devil's poison and considered its addition to drinking water to prevent tooth decay to be "one of the most dastardly plots ever attempted against the human race."