Gov. Ron DenSantis signs bill making Florida second state to ban fluoride from public water
May 15 (UPI) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday banning fluoride in public water, making it the second state to do so.
DeSantis signed SB 700, known as the Farm Bill, during a press conference. The law, which is to go into effect July 1, prohibits local governments from adding fluoride and other "water quality" additives from the water supply.
DeSantis equated the use of fluoride in water -- which is heralded as a trusted and tested public health preventative medicine strategy -- as "basically forced medication on people."
"People want to use it on their teeth, great. But it's readily available now," he said.
"We have the ability to deliver fluoride through toothpaste and ... all these others things. You don't got to force it and take way people's choices."
DeSantis framed the issue as one of "informed consent," stating "forcing this in the water supply is trying to take that away from people who may want a different decision rather than to have this in water."
The bill reached DeSantis after having been overwhelming approved by the state's House in a 88 to 27 vote late last month and the state's Senate on April 16 in a 27 to 9 vote.
Florida's ban comes after Utah in late March became the first state to prohibit fluoride in its public water and as the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Human Services review potential health risks associated with the long-held medical practices.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has claimed that fluoride is associated with an assortment of diseases, including cancer, and he called it "an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer IQ loss, neurodevelopment disorders and thyroid disease."
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its intention to remove fluoride supplements from the market staring October.
U.S. cities have fluoridated their drinking water for decades in a effort to fight tooth decay, with Grand Rapids, Mich., becoming the first to do so in 1945.
The American Dental Association has been a vocal supported of fluoridated tap water amid the controversy and on Thursday published slides to its Facebook account showing that the practice reduces cavities by 25% in both adults and children, and is safe.
Its president, Brett Kessler, said in a statement issued following Utah's ban that children will be the ones to suffer.
"Community water fluoridation programs save states money, save the federal government money and save people money," he said. "I urge every dentist and community member to make their voices heard if there are proposals in your area that threaten the oral health of our communities."
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