Florida has become the second state to ban fluoride from tap water.
Communities across the U.S. have added the mineral to drinking water for decades to prevent tooth decay. But in Florida that will have to stop on July 1, when a bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on Thursday takes effect.
"Forcing it into the water supply is basically forced medication on people," DeSantis said at a press conference in Dade City. "They don't have a choice. You're taking that away from them."
A prohibition in Utah, the first state to target putting the additive in public water systems, took effect earlier this month.
The focus on fluoride has ramped up in recent months.
President Donald Trump's pick of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. amplified his concerns that ingesting fluoride can cause health problems, including cognitive issues in young children.
ALSO READ: Legislature passes a statewide ban on fluoridation in community water systems
Kennedy is also pushing to ban children's prescription fluoride supplements, which are sometimes recommended when they don't have fluoridated water.
And while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends fluoride at a specific low level in drinking water and has called it one of the "10 great public health inventions of the 20th century," Kennedy is trying to change that, too.
Dental groups are adamant that low levels of the mineral only have positives. Democrats in the Legislature also came out hard against the change.
"Water fluoridation has been researched for more than 80 years, and overwhelming, credible scientific evidence consistently indicates that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe and effective at preventing and repairing tooth decay," said Dr. Jeff Ottley, president of the Florida Dental Association, in a statement after DeSantis first announced he would sign the measure last week.
After Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick in November, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo began advising local governments to stop fluoridating water. Some made the move to do so, including Miami-Dade County, which has the state's largest population.
Not every county in Florida added fluoride to water systems to begin with, but all that currently do so must stop by July.
That ban of fluoride and some other additives is part of a wide-ranging “Florida Farm Bill” (SB 700), which is supported by Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and contains a number of provisions geared toward helping farmers.
"Water should hydrate, not medicate," Simpson said.
Other provisions in the bill include preventing drone operators from harassing farmers, requiring honest labeling on plant-based products pretending to be meat or dairy, and protecting farmers from lending discrimination tied to environmental, social or governance (ESG) standards.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
