Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on April 7 that he would tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending fluoridation in municipal water nationwide.
Kennedy also said his department would reconvene the Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel composed of public health and prevention experts, “to study and make a new recommendation on fluoride.”
Kennedy disclosed the plans to The Associated Press on April 7 during an event in Salt Lake City, where he was joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin as part of a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) tour.
The EPA stated on April 7 that it is reviewing “new scientific information” on the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The agency has the authority to set the maximum level of fluoridation in public water systems.
Kennedy is an outspoken opponent of fluoride in water, calling it an “industrial waste” and “dangerous neurotoxin” on the presidential campaign trail in 2024.
Flanked by Utah legislators, Kennedy praised the state for emerging as “the leader in making America healthy again” on April 7.
“It makes no sense to have it in our water supply. And I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it. And I hope many more will come,” Kennedy said.
Utah state Rep. Stephanie Gricius, a Republican and chief sponsor of the bill, said pharmacists will still be allowed to prescribe fluoride for those wanting the mineral’s protection for their teeth.
“I believe in individual choice when it comes to what prescriptions we put into our bodies, and fluoride is federally regulated as a prescription,” Gricius told Reuters last month. “Community water fluoridation and informed consent, which is foundational to good health care, cannot coexist.”
The ADA stated that the measure would “take away the most effective, efficient, and equitable way for dental disease prevention.”
Lawmakers in Ohio, South Carolina, and Florida have also proposed restrictions on fluoridated water.
Although the CDC’s recommendations are generally followed, state and local governments determine whether their communities add fluoride to water. That addition cannot surpass the maximum number established by the EPA, which is currently 4 milligrams per liter.
“As soon as I was nominated by President Trump as administrator of the EPA, the secretary instantly reached out to start talking about issues that he is so passionate about. And No. 1 on that list was fluoride,” Zeldin said.
Federal officials endorsed water fluoridation in 1950 to prevent tooth decay.
Zeldin said that the EPA was exploring scientific studies regarding the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water to “inform the agency’s future steps” on national standards.
“Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue,“ Zeldin said on April 7. ”His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks, and we are committed to working alongside him, utilizing sound science as we advance our mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
Days before the presidential election in November 2024, Kennedy wrote in a post on social media platform X that one of President Donald Trump’s first acts in office would be to advise U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.
The CDC’s Division of Oral Health was recently eliminated as part of widespread staff cuts in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Medical groups and public health experts have long claimed that fluoride can strengthen teeth and reduce cavities.
Over time, studies have documented potential problems.
Kennedy warned that fluoride in water can also cause hyperthyroidism and osteoarthritis, among other conditions. Adding fluoride to water “clearly is doing harm” and is undermining freedom of choice, he said.
“We shouldn’t be demanding that parents accept something for their children and in their homes that is essentially a medication,” Kennedy said.
