Recent screw in florescent bulbs seem to have much less mercury than older ones. Some say the new ones have less than 5 mg of mercury. A mercury dental filling might have over a gram of mercury, which is 200 times as much. While no mercury exposure is good, the alternatives of using very expewnsive LED bulbs or using incandescent bubs which consume 4x the power don't seem too appealing. At least they are continually trying to reduce the mercury in these bulbs as much as possible, and these bulbs won't break that often with proper care.

Perhaps within 5 years LED bulbs for the home will be under $5. Already they are affordable enough for use in many flashlights.

There has been talk of banning the sale of incandescent bulbs(but perhaps just for standard sizes where inexpensive screw in florescents are available).