Well, we are beginning to see some movement towards elimination of fluoride from public drinking water and Utah is the first state to do it. Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed legislation this week that keeps cities and communities from adding the chemical to their water systems.
Fox News has the story.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday that bars cities and communities from deciding whether to add the chemical to their water systems.
The bill was passed by the legislature last month and is set to go into effect on May 7.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear.
Critics, however, have long said that washing teeth with fluoride is not comparable to the risks posed by ingesting fluoride, with the latter potentially triggering harmful neurotoxic effects.
The fluoride used in public systems is typically not naturally occurring fluoride and is instead sourced from the phosphate fertilizer industry, where it’s captured during processing to prevent environmental emissions.
Utah lawmakers who pushed for a ban said putting fluoride in water was too expensive and didn’t improve dental health. Cox, who grew up and raised his own children in a community without fluoridated water, compared it recently to being “medicated” by the government.
Bill sponsor Rep. Stephanie Gricius, a Republican, told Fox News Digital in January that she had been working on the bill since early last year, noting that fluoride is federally regulated as a prescription.
“Community water fluoridation and informed consent, which is foundational to good health care, cannot coexist,” Gricius said.
“I believe strongly in individual choice when it comes to what prescriptions we put into our bodies.”
“I believe strongly in individual choice when it comes to what prescriptions we put into our bodies.”
She said only two of Utah’s 29 counties practice community water fluoridation, and with a sample size of more than 70,000 children, researchers found there was no significant difference on children’s dental decay between counties that add fluoride and those that do not.
“In fact, the county with the lowest amount of decay does not add fluoride,” she said.
