Trump win may mean bye-bye to fluoridated drinking water

Ex-2024 U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling the cavity-fighter fluoride a disease-causing "industrial waste" that the Donald Trump administration will remove from public waters if the former president wins the November 5 election.

Kennedy, who was running as an independent until he dropped out of the race, wrote the following in a social media post on November 2: "On Jan. 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease." The post has more than 22 million views and has been loved more than 245,000 times.

Trump has suggested that he would name Kennedy, who was an environmental lawyer before entering the political arena, as the health czar in his next administration, according to multiple news reports. On November 1, Trump said during a campaign rally in Michigan that he would award Kennedy "a big role in healthcare" and that Kennedy has "some views that I happen to agree with very strongly," according to multiple news reports.

More than 70% of public drinking water in the U.S. is fluoridated. Despite the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention naming water fluoridation one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, the practice has many critics, specifically for its potential negative health risks.

State and local governments control most of the water supplies in their communities. As more studies have suggested fluoride's possible negative effects on children's IQs and more, some municipal governments, including those in Portland, OR, and Tucson, AZ, have stopped adding fluoride to public water systems.

A study published on October 18 in the Journal of Health Economics revealed that children exposed to public fluoridated water between the ages of 0 and 5 may experience less economic independence, physical ability, and health as adults.

Also in October, a review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews revealed that drinking fluoridated water may not be so important now that people in the U.S. use toothpaste and mouthwashes that contain cavity-fighting fluoride.

That review came two weeks after a U.S. judge in California issued a milestone decision that adding fluoride to public drinking water to help prevent tooth decay is risky to individuals, including children who may face lowered IQs, and therefore requires government intervention.

Additionally, the judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take regulatory action to address these risks. The EPA must determine the potential harm of fluoride in drinking water and how to respond under its amended Toxic Substances Control Act.