Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who may have a large role in future U.S. health policy under the Trump administration, said President-elect Donald Trump will recommend in January that fluoride be removed from public water systems, according to a story published on November 6 by NPR.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who was a 2024 U.S. presidential candidate until he dropped out of the race, said that on January 20, when Trump returns to office, his administration will call for fluoride to no longer be added to community drinking water systems. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer with no medical or public health background, has called fluoride "industrial waste" that is linked to bone fractures and cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.
Trump, who has said he supports some of Kennedy's controversial views on health, said he would give Kennedy "a big role in healthcare."
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 determining 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 determine how to respond under its amended Toxic Substances Control Act.
