Utah is set to become the first US state to ban fluoride in public water systems.
The bill, introduced last month, passed out of state legislature on Friday and is now in the hands of Governor Spencer Cox for final approval.
It would ban communities from adding the mineral into public waterways but allow pharmacists to prescribe fluoride tablets to those needing it as an alternative.
Fluoride was added to US water in 1940s after scientists found that people with higher levels of the mineral had fewer cavities.
Lawmakers who backed the bill, which could take effect on May 7, cited the cost of adding the mineral to water and how it should be an individual choice as reasons for the new legislation.
Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius told AP in a text message: ‘I don’t dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of [a fluoride pill].
‘This isn’t anti-fluoride legislation, it is pro-informed consent and individual choice.’
However, it comes as the new US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has long called for the mineral to be removed from America’s water supply, claiming it causes bone cancer, IQ loss and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Utah is one step away from becoming the first US state to ban fluoride in public drinking water
However, some local health experts said that fluoridated public water is often the only form of preventive dental care for some people, and the impacts may be most visible in low-income Utah residents
On November 2, RFK Jr posted on X, saying: ‘Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.’
While RFK Jr has been criticized for the statements, a bombshell report from the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies uncovered a strong association between higher levels of fluoride in tap water and lower IQ scores.
Researchers found that for every small increase of fluoride found in kids’ urine, there was a decrease of 1.63 IQ points.
They said that while this may seem like a relatively small dip in IQ, ‘research on other neurotoxicants has shown that subtle shifts in IQ at the population level can affect people who fall within the high and low ranges of the population’s IQ distribution.’
The team continued: ‘For context, a 5-point decrease in a population’s IQ would nearly double the number of people classified as intellectually disabled.’
However, adding fluoride to water has been touted as a great public health achievement.
Fluoride makes teeth more resistant to substances that can wear down enamel – like citrus, sugary foods and carbonated beverages – which thin and weaken teeth and make them more sensitive. This, in turn, prevents cavities and other dental infections.
The move comes as Robert F Kennedy Jr has long called for the removal of fluoride from America’s drinking water, claiming it causes bone cancer , IQ loss and neurodevelopmental disorders
And roughly 72 percent of Americans that use public water supplies drink water with fluoride added to it.
Lorna Koci, who chairs the Utah Oral Health Coalition, said: ‘Fluoridation is the the most cost effective way to prevent tooth decay on a large scale.
‘I think the anti-fluoride people, they’re latching onto Kennedy’s opportunity with his beliefs and using that now as a way to kind of get in the door to stop water fluoridation,’ she added.
Koci also said that fluoridated public water is often the only form of preventive dental care for some people, and the impacts may be most visible in low-income Utah residents.
Utah ranked 44th in the nation as of 2022 for percentage of residents receiving fluoridated water, according to CDC.
Out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data to the CDC in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water, an Associated Press analysis showed. The largest was the state’s biggest city, Salt Lake City.
In 2023, voters in Brigham City, north of Salt Lake City, struck down a measure that would have removed fluoride from its public water supplies. The proposal was defeated by more than a two-to-one margin.
Val Radmall, executive director of the Utah Dental Association, said he and other dental officials recently met with Gricius to try to get her to reevaluate the bill.
He has worked in communities without fluoride in tap water for 30 years, saying that lack of the mineral has shown in residents’ teeth.
‘I’d have a patient come in without cavities or anything else like that, and I’d say, ‘You didn’t grow up here. Where did you grow up?’ … because everybody here has lots of cavities!’ Radmall said.
