American families may soon have fluoride-free tap water as Health Secretary RFK Jr. announced plans to halt the CDC’s national fluoridation recommendations, calling the chemical a dangerous toxin.
Kennedy revealed this week that he is assembling a task force to address water fluoridation while praising Utah for becoming the first state to ban the practice.
“I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will,” Kennedy said.
The initiative marks a major shift in federal health policy. Nearly two-thirds of Americans—approximately 200 million people across the country — currently receive fluoridated water through community systems.
Since 1950, adding fluoride to drinking water has been federally endorsed despite growing concerns about potential health risks.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would review “new scientific information” on fluoride’s potential health hazards.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin publicly supported Kennedy’s position, stating, “Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue. His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks.”
Utah’s recent ban, signed by Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT), directly challenged the dental and health establishment.
The law, effective by May 7, disregards opposition from mainstream dentists and health organizations that have long promoted fluoridation as beneficial for preventing cavities.
“Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease,” RFK Jr. declared.
Kennedy’s concerns are not without scientific backing. A landmark 2012 Harvard study indicated that fluoride might adversely affect children’s cognitive development.
Additional research has linked excessive fluoride exposure to dental and developmental issues, including potentially lower IQs in children at high levels.
Moreover, the push against fluoridation represents a victory for advocates of personal choice and limited government intervention.
Since Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first city to add fluoride to water in 1945, critics have questioned the practice of mass medication without individual consent.
While the CDC currently recommends 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water and has long considered fluoridation one of the top public health achievements of the 20th century, Kennedy’s administration is now challenging this orthodoxy based on emerging science.
RFK Jr.’s move signals a significant shift toward protecting Americans from potentially harmful government mandates.
As the federal government reevaluates decades of established policy, parents concerned about fluoride’s effects on their children’s development may soon have one less chemical to worry about in their tap water.
