Fluoride And IQ? What Is The Link, What This Study Says
Topline
Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law to prohibit fluoride in public drinking water amid a recent surge of concern over the mineral additive—despite decades of backing by public health officials—fueled in part by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims of its potential health risks.
Key Facts
The law, signed by Cox on Thursday and effective May 7, prevents communities from adding fluoride to their public drinking water systems.
Cox said weeks ago he would sign the bill, telling ABC4 Utah “it’s got to be a really high bar for me if we’re going to require people to be medicated by their government,” adding, “it’s not a bill I care that much about, but it’s a bill I will sign.”
The use of fluoride in public water is widely supported by dental health experts who say it is safe in levels found in U.S. drinking water and can help strengthen enamel and prevent cavities by repairing and preventing damage caused by bacteria, though some research in recent years has suggested higher levels of exposure could be linked to lower IQ levels in children.
Kennedy said in November “the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water” and suggesting an array of medical threats posed by fluoride, without providing any evidence (Trump said at the time he was open to Kennedy’s proposal, but has not taken any action related to fluoride in public water).
Cox has not mentioned health concerns cited by Kennedy in discussing the legislation, according to The New York Times, but he has noted less than half of the state’s residents are provided public drinking water containing fluoride and there haven’t been “drastically different outcomes.”
The bill’s supporters in the state legislature have said adding fluoride to public water is too expensive, while its sponsor, Republican state Rep. Stephanie Gricius told the Associated Press, “I don’t dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of the prescription, calling the bill “pro-informed consent and individual choice.
Is There Any Evidence Fluoride Can Be Harmful?
An August 2024 systematic review by the National Toxicology Program in the Health and Human Services Department found “higher estimated fluoride exposures . . . are consistently associated with lower IQ in children,” though it noted that the exposure levels studied exceeded the World Health Organization’s recommendations for fluoride concentration in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ordered the Environmental Protection Agency in September to reassess its regulations of fluoride levels in drinking water to lower the potential risk it poses to children’s IQ levels. The judge made the ruling after the National Toxicology Program report and in response to a lawsuit filed by the non-profit Food & Water Watch advocacy organization in San Francisco in 2017.
Key Background
Communities in the U.S. first began adding fluoride to public water systems in 1945, and now, nearly three-quarters of the U.S. population drinks tap water with fluoride included. In recent years, however, some studies have emerged suggesting that high levels of fluoride were linked to lower IQ in children. The inclusion of fluoride in modern dental products, such as toothpaste and mouthwash, have also raised questions about whether it’s necessary to continue including fluoride in public water, though medical authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association, continue to strongly promote the practice. “Studies prove water fluoridation continues to be effective in reducing dental decay by at least 25% in children and adults, even in the era of widespread availability of fluoride from other sources,” the ADA says on its website. Both organizations have also reported research does not show an association between cancer and fluoride levels.
What To Watch For
State lawmakers have also introduced legislation to ban fluoride in public water in North Dakota and Tennessee—where they were both rejected—and Montana.
Further Reading
RFK Jr.’s Conspiracy Theories: Here’s What Trump’s Pick For Health Secretary Has Promoted (Forbes)
RFK Jr.’s 10,000 Health Job Cuts: CDC, FDA, Medicare And Medicaid Services Reportedly Affected (Forbes)
Trump Open To RFK Jr.’s Anti-Water Fluoride Proposal, Doesn’t Rule Out Banning Some Vaccines (Forbes)
