United States: The ban on public drinking water fluoridation has passed through Utah’s legislature, establishing the state as the first to outlaw this practice, even though nearly all dentists and national health groups remain opposed.
More about the news
Republican Governor Spencer Cox declared his support for legislation that prevents local governments from making decisions regarding water fluoridation in their networks.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoride adds strength to teeth and fights cavities by taking the place of minerals that disappear during mouthwear processes.
Drinking water fluoridation in low amounts represents a major public health milestone in twentieth-century America.
The implementation of fluoride in community water supply controls 25% of tooth cavity development, according to research by government scientists.
As the American Dental Association President Brad Kessler of Denver noted, “We’ve got tried and true evidence of the safety and efficacy of this public health initiative,” AP News reported.
According to Kessler, the emissions of cavities in children would happen shortly after Utah terminated fluoride in drinking water.
The ban on water fluoridation occurred shortly after the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as federal health secretary while he maintained doubts regarding fluoridation practices.
“It’s not a bill I care that much about,” Cox maintained, “but it’s a bill I will sign.”
Lawmakers from Utah introduced their bill to eliminate fluoridation because they considered applying fluorides to drinking water too costly. Cox shared a common experience with Utah residents since he matured and reared his children in an area without fluoridated water.
Furthermore, “You would think you would see drastically different outcomes with half the state not getting it….We haven’t seen that,” Cox noted, as AP News reported.
“So it’s got to be a really high bar for me if we’re going to require people to be medicated by their government,” he continued.