A bill that would ban Florida's public drinking water fluoride is heading to the governor's table. Romain Costaseca/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Closed subtitles
Florida is expected to ban fluoride drinking water under new legislation passed by state lawmakers.
The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's desk for signature. If signed, Florida will become the second state after Utah to ban fluoride from its public water supply.
DeSantis calls fluorination a “mandatory drug.” His office did not comment on whether DeSantis would sign the measure.
Water supply departments in U.S. states have added a small amount of fluoride to their water supply over decades, and experts say it blocks millions of cavity.
The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the measure Tuesday as part of a wider farm bill. The Senate passed the ban in early April. Without specific reference to fluoride, the legislation would prohibit municipalities from adding "water quality additives" to water supply.
According to WUSF, the DeSantis government has recommended a ban on fluoride, and as WUSF reported, state surgeon Joseph Ladapo called fluorination a “public health incident.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now Secretary of Health and Human Services, before Trump won the election.
Kennedy subscribes to many debunked plots surrounding health and wellness, and also accuses the fluorination of water to address countless health issues, including arthritis, skeletal fractures, bone cancer, loss of IQ, neurodevelopmental diseases and thyroid disease.
However, dentists and other health experts believe that controlling mineral contact is key to preventing tooth decay and the risk of negative impact is small.
In addition to breakthroughs such as vaccines and seat belts, public water fluorination is also considered one of the greatest public health innovations of the 20th century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In early April, under Kennedy's guidance, HHS announced it had directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reconvene an independent team of 15 health experts to study the role of fluoride in water sources and whether it is harmful to public health.
Elsewhere, use fluoride in water.
Calgary, Canada voted to ban mineral supply in 2011, but the legislature overturned its decision last year after a significant peak in the city's pediatric dental cavity.
The Florida ban, if signed into law, will come into effect on July 1.