“Florida has become the second state in the nation to ban the addition of fluoride to public drinking water,” CNN reports:
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Florida Farm Bill, which includes language banning the use of any additive in a public water system that does not meet the new definition of a “water quality additive”: a chemical or substance used in public water to specifically address drinking water standards, contaminants or quality.
“Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that’s fine. But forcing it into the water supply is basically forced medication on people,” DeSantis said. “They don’t have a choice. You’re taking that away from them.”
More than 70% of Floridians who use community water systems receive fluoridated water, according to Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who issued guidance in November recommending against community water fluoridation, citing its potential health effects….
On the recommendation of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, many cities have added fluoride to their treated drinking water for decades to help protect teeth from cavities….However, research has showed that exposure to fluoridated water during pregnancy is associated with increased neurobehavioral problems in children, and a federal review concluded that higher levels are linked with lower IQ in kids.
It is not clear how to weigh the benefits of fluoridation against its risks. Maybe Florida should have left it to localities to decide for themselves whether to add fluoride to water. Most U.S. medical web sites, such as the Cleveland Clinic, still favor fluoridation of water.
A federal judge in California has ruled that the EPA must consider restrictions on fluoride in water, concluding that there is “substantial” evidence that it “poses a risk to human health.” The judge, Edward Chen, is a Democrat and former ACLU attorney appointed by President Obama in 2011.
A federal court in California ruled … against the Environmental Protection Agency, ordering officials to take action over concerns about potential health risks from currently recommended levels of fluoride in the American drinking water supply…..While [Judge] Chen was careful to say that his ruling “does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health,” he said that evidence of its potential risk was now enough to warrant forcing the EPA to take action.
“In all, there is substantial and scientifically credible evidence establishing that fluoride poses a risk to human health; it is associated with a reduction in the IQ of children and is hazardous at dosages that are far too close to fluoride levels in the drinking water of the United States,” the judge wrote in his ruling….
Chen said he left it up to the EPA which of a number of options the agency could take in response to his ruling. They range from a warning label about fluoride’s risks at current levels to taking steps towards tightening restrictions on its addition to drinking water.
“One thing the EPA cannot do, however, in the face of this Court’s finding, is to ignore that risk,” he wrote.
Different countries have different stances on whether fluoridation of water is a good or bad idea. As Wikipedia explains, European and Asian nations tend not to fluoridate their water: “Many European countries have rejected water fluoridation, including: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland,[69] Scotland,[70] Iceland, and Italy.[71] A 2003 survey of over 500 Europeans from 16 countries concluded that ‘the vast majority of people opposed water fluoridation.’”
“Out of a population of about three-quarters of a billion, under 14 million people (approximately 2%) in Europe receive artificially-fluoridated water.” “Less than 1% of Japan practices water fluoridation.”
By contrast, most drinking water in the United States and Australia is fluoridated. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the fluoridation of water.
Fluoride toothpastes are a good idea, helping to prevent cavities. But you should not swallow the toothpaste. Children who routinely swallow such toothpaste can end up with pitted, chalky teeth.
