The Florida legislature has sent a bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis that would ban water fluoridation in the state.
Senate Bill 700, dubbed the “Florida Farm Bill,” aims to support the state’s agriculture and agricultural workers with a number of measures while also prohibiting the addition of any non-water quality additives into the public water supply beginning July 1.
The bill was introduced Feb. 13 and passed by the Senate earlier this month. The House of Representatives passed the bill April 29.
If signed by the governor, Florida would become the second state to enact a statewide ban after Utah, which enacted its own ban earlier this year. Other states are also considering bans, including Ohio, Texas, Tennessee and Louisiana. Other states are considering repealing water fluoridation mandates, which would instead make the practice optional for individual cities.
Florida cities began debating water fluoridation after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, recommended against the practice in November, citing potential health risks. Some cities voted to end water fluoridation, while others opted to continue adding the mineral to their water supplies.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava disapproved of the bill’s passage April 29. The mayor vetoed a measure earlier this month that would have ended water fluoridation in her county.
“I am deeply disappointed by the Florida legislature’s decision to pursue a statewide ban on water fluoridation, a decision that disregards the overwhelming consensus of dentists, doctors and medical experts and will end a practice that has been in place for decades to protect our health,” she said in an April 29 news release. “A decision like this — which impacts the health and wellbeing of all Florida families — should be left to local communities to determine what is best for their residents. In Miami-Dade we know that our community trusts dentists, not politicians, on whether or not we should fluoridate, and that’s why I continue to believe that listening to medical experts is the best way to safeguard our health.”
While the American Dental Association has yet to speak out about the passage of SB 700, the organization previously denounced Dr. Ladapo’s comments about fluoride.
“The ADA believes in the use of proven, evidence-based science when making public policy decisions,” Brett Kessler, DDS, president of the ADA, said in a Nov. 23 news release. “For Dr. Ladapo to call community water fluoridation ‘medical malpractice’ and call on all municipalities to end its practice is a dangerous statement that stands to harm the oral and overall health of all Floridians.”
The ADA also opposed Utah’s statewide ban, and rebuked similar comments made by Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, MD, about community water fluoridation.
The debate on water fluoridation continues nationwide as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced plans to advise the CDC to stop recommending adding fluoride to public water supplies. In addition, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency will
“expeditiously review” new information on the potential health risks of fluoride.