Florida's State Surgeon General issued a recommendation against community water fluoridation due to neuropsychiatric risks.
Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced his guidance on Friday, citing neuropsychiatric risks associated with fluoride exposure. It comes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, said earlier this month that a Trump White House would advise "all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water." Arkansas Republicans had also filed a bill to remove fluoride from drinking water in their state.
"Due to the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure, particularly in pregnant women and children, and the wide availability of alternative sources of fluoride for dental health, the State Surgeon General recommends against community water fluoridation," the press release read.
Newsweek reached out to the Florida Health Department for comment.
Fluoride is naturally found in groundwater, fresh and saltwater as well as foods and soils. Community water fluoridation adjusts the amount of fluoride in drinking water to a level that will prevent tooth decay.
The fluoridation of U.S. water began in 1945, but recommended levels have since been lowered because of health risks.
Self-reported data from 2023 estimate that over 70 percent of Florida residents on community water systems receive fluoridated water, according to Ladapo. The CDC does not mandate community water fluoridation, but it says it is "one of 10 great public health interventions of the 20th century."
Ladapo listed a September US District Court ruling that found community water fluoridation at .7 milligrams per liter "presents an unreasonable risk to health under the Amended Toxic Substance Control Act."
"Other studies point to various potential impacts associated with systemic fluoride consumption that should be considered when weighing the risks and benefits of adding fluoride to community water systems," Ladapo wrote, "including increased risks of developing sleep apnea, accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland, sleep cycle disturbance, premature menarche in adolescent girls, negative impacts on the thyroid gland, and elevated occurrences of skeletal fluorosis."
The talk around fluoride in water was sparked by Kennedy, who Trump has appointed to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. revealed plans to remove fluoride from drinking water on November 2, prior to Trump's election win.
"On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump want to Make America Healthy Again."
Ladapo said the Florida Department of Health "strongly supports" other ways of "oral and overall health." These include providing tobacco and vaping cessation resources, promoting healthy habits such as reducing sugar consumption, screenings in school settings and dental clinics.
In the past, Ladapo has promoted unproven treatments and has also opposed vaccine and mask mandates around the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2022, he suggested that healthy children in Florida should not get vaccinated against Covid-19. Ladapo is also against transgender health care and has deferred "to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance" for unvaccinated students during a 2024 measles outbreak in Fort Lauderdale.
In Arkansas, a bill was filed on Wednesday in the state legislature in Little Rock. The legislation aims to remove the state's mandatory fluoridation of drinking water. If passed, municipal water systems serving more than 5,000 people would be exempted from adding fluoride.
The bill was sponsored by State Senator Clint Penzo and Sen. Bryan King, and cosponsored by Rep. Matt Duffield and Rep. Aaron Pilkington. They are all Republicans.
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