Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping bill on Thursday banning fluoridated water in Florida, condemning cities for imposing the "forced medication."
The new law, SB 700, will take effect on July 1—banning all Florida counties from using the anti-tooth decay mineral in the public water supply. The bill signing comes amid a federal push to outlaw fluoride supplements, an effort led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.
"Forcing fluoride into your water is actually not good," DeSantis said at a Dade City press conference Thursday, hosting the public bill signing a day after the Legislature sent the measure to his desk. "It's basically forced medication."
He cited the alleged dangers of fluoride for pregnant women and children, stressing that fluoride usage should be up to the individual. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, speaking alongside the governor, noted that the new law will prevent future governments from trying to make health choices for Floridians, joking that the next water supply additive would have been Ozempic—an anti-diabetic medication improperly used by some for rapid weight loss.
Fluoride has been in some American water supplies as early as the 1950s, years after the first fluoridated water trial in Michigan yielded positive results in terms of decreased tooth decay. Tallahassee, for example, has fluoridated its water since 1987. But some critics point out that excessive fluoridation can cause skeletal and thyroid issues.
Earlier this week, RFK Jr. and the Food and Drug Administration have begun the process of sweeping prescription fluoride tablets and drops from the market, CNN reported. The products are typically used by children to lower tooth decay rates in areas without fluoridated water, like Utah, which was the first state to ban the mineral in the public water supply.
As for Florida, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo urged all Florida cities to strike fluoride from their water supplies in November, days after RFK, Jr. was nominated to HHS Secretary. Though some, including Miami-Dade, Stuart, and Winter Haven, complied, others, like Cocoa and Port Orange, voted against striking fluoride.
But this bill would force the 28 counties currently fluoridated their water to comply, removing the mineral from the water supply altogether. According to Florida Health Charts, around 93% of Floridians drank from the public water supply in 2022.
The bill takes effect on July 1.
