Florida set to become second state to ban fluoride in public water

Lawmakers in Florida gave final passage to a bill banning fluoride in public water systems on Tuesday, with the state House voting 88 yay and 27 nay.

SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, doesn’t mention the word “fluoride,” but would effectively ban the chemical compound by preventing “the use of certain additives in a water system.” The bill now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

If Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride from water supplies.

Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican, signed a bill in late March that prohibits any person or government entity from adding the cavity-fighting mineral from the state’s water systems, making it the first state to do so. It will go into effect on May 7.

During a Florida House session Tuesday, lawmakers in support of the bill argued that fluoride does not improve water quality and removing it from water systems could save local governments money. Opponents of the bill argued that everyday Floridians rely on fluoride for dental health.

“This bill doesn’t hurt the wealthy. They’ll keep seeing private dentists, getting their expensive treatments and flashing their perfect smiles,” Rep. Daryl Campbell, D-Fl., said during the session. “But for everyday Floridians, the people who clock in at 6 a.m., who can’t take time off — off for their dental visits, who rely on water from their taps to protect their kids, this bill takes a safe and proven and affordable public health tool and rips it away.”

In a statement, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, D-Fl., said she was “deeply disappointed” by the legislature’s decision to ban fluoride, which she says “disregards the overwhelming consensus of dentists, doctors, and medical experts and will end a practice that has been in place for decades to protect our health.”

“No studies have shown that fluoridation at low levels is unsafe for our communities, including babies and pregnant women — in fact, it is vitally important for the health of developing teeth in infants and children,” Cava said, adding that decisions like these should be left to local communities to decide. “Ending fluoridation will have long-lasting health consequences, especially for our most vulnerable families.”

Major public health groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association and the CDC — which says drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities — support adding the mineral to water. 

The anti-fluoridation movement seems to be gaining popularity, especially with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, who has said there is no “systemic advantage” to drinking fluoridated water.

Legislation banning fluoride has circulated in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

Hawaii, which has never mandated water fluoridation, has the “highest prevalence of tooth decay in the United States” among its children, with only 11% of its residents served by a fluoridated community water system, according to a 2015 study done by the health department on third graders throughout the state.