Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday that he is working with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to change nationwide recommendations for adding fluoride in public drinking water.
Kennedy has made changing federal recommendations on fluoride in drinking water a priority because some might be getting more than they need now that toothpaste, mouthwashes and fluoride applications by dental providers have become more widely available.
Decisions on the use of fluoride in drinking water rest squarely with states and local communities. Utah in May became the first state to ban fluoride in drinking water, and Florida is poised to join it, as its legislature Tuesday passed a bill that is awaiting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature.
"I visited Utah, which is the first state to ban supplemental fluoride," Kennedy said at a Cabinet meeting that aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform. "Florida yesterday passed a bill to end supplemental fluoride. I'm confident Gov. DeSantis is going to sign that. Lee Zeldin and I are working together to change the federal fluoride regulations, to change the recommendations. We're looking at the science now."
Kennedy noted that in August, the HHS' National Toxicology Program released a study that showed the more fluoride a child is exposed to, the more likely that child's IQ will be lower than if they were not exposed.
"So the more you get, the stupider you are," he said. "And we need smart kids in this country, and we need healthy kids."
In 1962, federal drinking water standards were updated to include fluoride guidelines with recommended and maximum levels, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention timeline. The optimal fluoride concentration ranged from 0.7 ppm (parts per million) to 1.2 ppm, contingent on the local climate. More than 200 million Americans, or about 75% of the population, drink fluoridated water.
In September, a federal judge in California ruled that scientific evidence of fluoride's health risks when ingested at levels currently prescribed for drinking water — especially to the developing brains of infants — requires stricter regulation. He ordered the EPA to strengthen regulation of fluoride in drinking water across the country.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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