Two Florida cities are considering ending water fluoridation in their communities, Florida Today reported Jan. 26.
Eight notes:
1. Cocoa City Councilwoman Lorraine Koss said she would prefer that the city did not have fluoride in its water system, citing a Swedish study that found fluoride can lead to bone issues in post-menopausal women.
2. Titusville Mayor Andrew Connors proposed a special City Council meeting to debate water fluoridation but was met with pushback from other City Council members, who said a 2021 debate about the issue led to no change in the city's fluoridation policy.
3. The Titusville City Council could also approve a ballot question that would allow residents to vote unofficially on the matter.
4. Cocoa and Titusville would join a list of other cities in the state that have considered or have already halted water fluoridation after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, recommended against the practice in November.
5. The cities in Florida that voted to end water fluoridation include Fort Pierce, Ormond Beach, Immokalee, Melbourne, Naples, Tavares, Stuart and Port St. Lucie.
6. National debate about water fluoridation began last year after the National Toxicology Program concluded in a contested report that higher levels of fluoride exposure are associated with lower IQ in children.
7. Robert Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, also said Mr. Trump would aim to remove fluoride from public water sources once he is in office.
8. A federal judge ruled in September that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must address the impact that fluoride has in drinking water. EPA appealed the ruling earlier this month after being urged to do so by a coalition of several oral health organizations.