Life expectancy and quality of life are of course separate issues. I do believe that the US life expectancy rate is lower than many other countries, (not necessarily a product of the water) some of whom don't pump fluoride into the drinking water to be ingested unnecessarily by everyone - should a person be fluoride deficient, they can receive prescribed dosages of the substance from a pharmacy. Why poison your whole country if only a handful of people need additional fluoride? Additionally, it has been deemed hazardous to give children under 6 yrs of age fluoride in toothpaste etc, and yet, baby formula, juices, water are all taken from the tap water containing fluoride and given to little kids - and we have had increased issues with autism,add,adhd etc. If fluoride is toxic to babies and kids, but it's in the tap water - who are we setting up for health problems? sammieswife