Latest news with #FloridaDentalAssociation
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida bans municipalities from fluoridating water supplies
Image via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Florida has banned fluoride from its water supply. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed (SB 700) into law Thursday making Florida the second state (after Utah) in the country to ban municipalities from fluoridating their water supplies. The bill doesn't include the word fluoride. Instead, it references any substances not included on a list of acceptable additives — which fluoride is not. The Florida Dental Association prioritizes the health and well-being of all Floridians and relies on research-proven methods to promote dental health across the state. – FDA President Dr. Jeff Ottley But DeSantis dropped the F-word plenty during a bill-signing ceremony and credited State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo with helping to get the ban passed. 'Joseph Ladapo has really led the charge by going to counties and saying forcing fluoride into your water is actually not good. There's risks associated that. For pregnant women, for young people, for kids. And, yes, use fluoride for your team. That's fine. But forcing it into the water supply is basically forced medication on people. They don't have a choice. You're taking that away from them,' the governor said. Florida's top public health official recommends nixing community water fluoridation The Florida Dental Association denounced the move, saying in a prepared statement it was 'disappointed in Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature's decision to end one of the most effective, safe and affordable protections against tooth decay.' 'The Florida Dental Association prioritizes the health and well-being of all Floridians and relies on research-proven methods to promote dental health across the state,' FDA President Dr. Jeff Ottley said in a prepared statement. Ottley went on to say that the FDA strongly reinforces that fluoridation is a naturally occurring mineral, not a medication, that is already present in the water in many parts of the country, including Florida. Water fluoridation has been researched for more than 80 years, and overwhelming, credible scientific evidence consistently indicates that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe and effective at preventing and repairing tooth decay.' It's the second press event the governor held on SB 700 in the last nine days. He was joined by Ladapo and Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Wilton Simpson at the first event. Simpson joined DeSantis again Thursday to praise the new law. Senate President Ben Albritton also attended the press conference. Albritton championed a provision in SB 700 that creates Florida Retail Fuel Transfer Switch Modernization Grant Program within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Subject to funding, the program provides up to $10,000 in grants per retail fuel facility to install or modernize transfer switch infrastructure to allow for the continuity of fueling operations when the stations are being powered by a generator. Retail fuel locations in fiscally constrained counties could be awarded grants of up to $10,000. Gas stations in all other counties would be eligible for up to $5,000 in grants to cover the costs of the transfer switch and installation. The transfer switches must be capable of operating all fuel pumps. Worth noting: The bill doesn't contain an appropriation, so the grant program must be included in the state fiscal year 2025-26 budget in order to be operational. Albritton predicted the grant program will be a game changer for Floridians during hurricane season, a time when power outages can leave residents locked out from filling their cars with gasoline, even when the stores have it available. 'So, when hurricane evacuation or when hurricane recovery is happening, those families will not have to search on, and on, and on, and on trying to find gasoline just to keep their family safe and get out of harm's way. These switches will go a long way to making sure that we have generators that are connected to these places and will have access to that gasoline.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
DeSantis signs ban on adding fluoride
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that includes preventing local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies. The bill (SB 700), dubbed the 'Florida Farm Bill.' makes a series of changes related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 'Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that's fine, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people,' DeSantis said during a bill-signing event in Dade City. 'They don't have a choice. You're taking that away from them.' Cities and counties have added fluoride to drinking water for decades to bolster dental health but recently have debated whether to continue the practice. Florida joins Utah, which banned fluoride in March. Among other things, the bill will restrict plant-based foods from being labeled milk, meat, poultry or eggs. The bill also will prohibit most operations of drones over agricultural lands, wildlife management areas or sport shooting ranges. When DeSantis announced May 6 he would sign the bill, Florida Dental Association President Jeff Ottley issued a statement that said fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral already present in many water sources and is not a medication. 'Water fluoridation has been researched for more than 80 years, and overwhelming, credible scientific evidence consistently indicates that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe and effective at preventing and repairing tooth decay,' Ottley said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
DeSantis says he'll sign bill banning fluoride from public drinking water
Florida Channel screenshot of Gov. Ron DeSantis in Miami on May 6, 2025. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised legislation Tuesday (SB 700) that would make Florida the second state in the country to ban fluoride from its water supply. He hasn't actually signed the legislation yet but promised to while in Miami, just hours after the Miami-Dade County Commission voted to override Mayor Daniela Levine-Cava's veto of an ordinance banning fluoride in drinking water. 'It's forced medication when they're jamming fluoride into your water supply, and they did it because you have fluoride [and] 'it will help with dental.' And I'm not saying that's not true, but we have other ways where people can get access to fluoride,' DeSantis said. 'When you do this in the water supply, you're taking away a choice of someone who may not want to have overexposure to fluoride.' The bill itself never mentions the word 'fluoride.' Instead, it bans 'the use of any additive in a public water system which does not meet the definition of a water quality additive' as defined in statute. Joining DeSantis at the press conference were Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida's surgeon general, who issued a recommendation in November against community water fluoridation due to what he called the 'neuropsychiatric risk.' Since then, more than a dozen local governments in Florida have banned fluoride in their public water drinking systems. Ladapo compared health care professionals still opposed to removing fluoride from the drinking water supply to the comic strip character Linus with his blanket. 'We have doctors, dentists, public health leaders who are holding on to fluoridation like that blanket,' he said. 'I mean, it doesn't matter what the evidence shows, right? Whatever the studies show about potential harms to children and pregnant women and who knows about the rest of us. They're just holding on to it. That's okay when you're a kid, but we're grownups here. We're adults, we're responsible for the lives of other people who have to make good decisions.' The Florida Dental Association said that members were 'disappointed' in the decision to end what they said was one of the most 'effective, safe and affordable protections against tooth decay.' 'The Florida Dental Association strongly reinforces that fluoridation is a naturally occurring mineral, not a medication, that is already present in the water in many parts of the country, including Florida,' said Dr. Jeff Ottley, the president of the group. 'Water fluoridation has been researched for more than 80 years, and overwhelming, credible scientific evidence consistently indicates that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe and effective at preventing and repairing tooth decay.' The fluoride provision was just one part of the Florida farm bill pushed by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Simpson said he looked forward to discussing the many other parts of the legislation that aids the agriculture community in the state but that 'today we announce that drinking water will hydrate, not medicate.' There are similar moves afoot on the national level. U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month to reconvene an independent panel of health experts to examine the role that fluoride plays in water sources and whether it is detrimental to public health. Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in drinking water in late March. That measure will go into effect on Wednesday. Also joining the governor was Miami-Dade Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia, sponsor of the recently passed bill (SB 56) on geoengineering and water modification activities. The measure would make unapproved cloud seeding and similar activities third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines up to $100,000. Again, DeSantis has yet to receive the bill but promised to sign it. 'We are sending a powerful message to the nation and the world that we prioritize our environment and the right of our citizens to clean, unmanipulated skies,' said Garcia. 'We are setting an example of responsible governance, demonstrating that we will not allow unchecked experimentation with our atmosphere.' During an earlier committee stop, Garcia acknowledged 'a lot of skepticism' about the proposal in light of conspiracy theories about 'chemtrails.' She said her intention was to 'try to separate fact from fiction and to start to create a methodology where people feel comfortable by confirming what it is that they're seeing, creating a system to log, track, investigate if necessary.' Marla Maples, former wife of President Donald Trump, testified in support of the proposal at its first committee hearing earlier this year and attended Tuesday's event. The bill prohibits the 'injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus into the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.' DeSantis said that while no such geoengineering is taking place in Florida, the law is needed because of climate change advocates who want to attempt to 'solve global warming by putting stuff into the atmosphere.' Similar proposals have been heard in other state legislatures this year, including in Arizona and Utah. Tennessee passed such a measure last year. Once they are signed by the governor, both bills would go into effect on July 1. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Community fluoridation ban heads to Senate floor
(Photo via the Centers for Disease. Control and Prevention) Over objections by the Florida Dental Association and League of Women Voters of Florida, a Senate panel voted Tuesday to bar public water systems from 'the use of any additive included primarily for health-related purposes.' The ban is included in an omnibus Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill (SB 700) that now heads to the full Senate for consideration. The bill was praised by Pensacola resident Pueschel Schneier, the first to testify on the bill during public debate. She said the decision to add fluoride to water may have been valid in the 1940s, before people knew about tooth decay and cavities and proper oral health. 'But times have changed. Eighty years later, America is the land of plenty. There is no excuse for someone who claims they don't have access to a toothbrush. It boils down to personal accountability. People are responsible for making sure their children are brushing their teeth correctly and that they're eating the proper diet,' Schneier said. She did add, 'I'm sure genetics play a huge role.' The Florida Dental Association opposes the bill but did not publicly testify against it in committee Tuesday. League of Women Voters Co-President Cecile M. Scoon said her organization opposes the bill because it preempts local governments from deciding whether to add fluoride to water. The organization generally has opposed legislation curbing local government from making decisions locally. Moreover, Coon took aim at Schneier's testimony that proper health habits are ingrained in every child. 'There have been studies that have shown that despite the first speaker, not every parent is doing everything the right way. I mean, obviously, children come with all kinds of problems that we would not want to see and sometimes it's nutrition, it's their immunizations, different things. ' The bill passed the committee as Seminole County leaders voted Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to its water supply. That followed the Miami Dade County commission's decision a week ago to do the same. Utah became the first state to stop adding fluoride to its water supply. The decision was praised by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named community fluoridation of drinking water one of the 10 great public health interventions of the 20th Century because of the dramatic decline in cavities since it started in 1945. There is no government mandate, though, for community fluoridation of drinking water. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends fluoride levels for municipalities that do choose to add fluoride to community water supplies. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo recommended against community fluoridation late last year. Ladapo, whose past advice on health issues has roundly been criticized by others in the healthcare arena, saw his suggestion rejected by the group that represents Florida dentists, which countered that fluoridation is one of the 'most effective and affordable public health measures' around. Ladapo asserted a 'neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure,' citing studies that allege exposure to fluoride increases risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and lower IQs. 'It is clear more research is necessary to address safety and efficacy concerns regarding community water fluoridation,' Ladapo, who works for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said in a written statement. 'The previously considered benefit of community water fluoridation does not outweigh the current known risks, especially for special populations like pregnant women and children.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Longwood Council unanimously votes to cut fluoride from water
Longwood City Council voted unanimously to remove fluoride from its water after several residents spoke in favor of doing so Monday night. The city has added fluoride to its water since the 1980s. Longwood joins other Central Florida cities that have removed fluoride, including Tavares, Palm Bay, Ormond Beach, and Melbourne. Read: Local Pastor and 'Prophet' accused of not paying worker for months Residents lined up during public comment, noting some studies that show neuropsychiatric risk to fluoride exposure. In November, Florida's Surgeon General released guidance showing a risk from fluoride exposure. However, the Surgeon General cited research completed outside the U.S., where much higher fluoride exposure levels than recommended by the CDC were tested. Read: New charges filed against man accused of killing pedestrian during car chase The Florida Dental Association and American Dental Association both strongly support the inclusion of fluoride in water. Both say it's the most effective, safe, and cost-effective public health measure to prevent and repair tooth decay. Read: 'We exist': hundreds protest Trump administration in downtown Orlando on Presidents Day Several residents and council members expressed that even if people are in favor of keeping fluoride in water, it should be up to the individual, not the government, to decide whether to consume fluoride. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
