Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Friday. announced Recommendation for community water fluoridation.
The recommendation comes after the Florida city voted last week to remove fluoride from drinking water, with one city commissioner citing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s past comments on the issue. This is cited as one of the reasons.
Florida's top health official cited “neuropsychiatric risks associated with fluoride exposure, particularly for pregnant women and children,” as the primary reason for the recommendation.
“It is clear that further research is needed to address safety and effectiveness concerns regarding community water fluoridation,” said Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, state Army Surgeon General..“The benefits of community water fluoridation as previously considered do not outweigh the currently known risks, especially for special populations such as pregnant women and children.”
The Environmental Protection Agency has placed legal limits on water fluoridation because large amounts of the chemical can cause health problems.
In 2017, a judge considered a legal challenge alleging that fluoride causes neurological effects and concluded that there was an “unreasonable risk” associated with the presence of fluoride in water; The findings “do not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is harmful to public health,” it said.
Kennedy, who President-elect Trump recently nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), previously wrote in a social media post that “President Trump's White House has recommended that all water systems in the United States remove fluoride from public water supplies. I will.”
Water fluoridation is a local decision, and it is unclear whether President Kennedy will be able to force local governments to phase out cavities-fighting chemicals.
President Kennedy also wrote that fluoride is “linked” to a number of medical problems, but many of these claims are not true when most people drink fluoridated water or brush their teeth. It has been linked to exposure to much higher levels of fluoride than those experienced in the United States.
Fluoride, a natural substance, has been used in drinking water in the United States since 1945 and is widely considered one of the most important public health measures of the 20th century.
