Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expanding his crusades to bring the clock back to federal health policy.
He has now targeted water fluorination, another long-standing pillar of American public health, another long-standing pillar of American public health.
The HHS will convene a committee of experts to consider the federal government's recommendation that communities will freeze water, the agency announced Monday. The Environmental Protection Agency is simultaneously launching a science review of the health effects of fluoride.
The final results of these enquiries appear to be a natural conclusion. Kennedy told The Associated Press that he hopes the government will stop its fluorination recommendations. He called fluoride “industrial waste,” and criticised it, from neurological damage to children to bone cancer.
The fluoride ban is an integral part of Kennedy's campaign to make America healthy again. The review news praised Utah on the day he appeared in Salt Lake City for being the first state to officially ban fluorescence replenishment of water.
“It makes no sense to have that in our water supply,” Kennedy told reporters. “I'm extremely proud that this state is the first state to ban it. I hope more states come.”
Confusing science regarding the fluorination of water briefly explained
Water fluorination, supported by the US government since 1950, has long been considered a major public health victory. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as last year, reports that fluoride in water reduces cavities in children and adults by 25%, based on the best available evidence. Approximately three in five Americans drink fluorinated water from the community's water system.
Concerns about the health effects of fluorinated water have been around for decades, especially among conspiracy-oriented individuals like Kennedy. Like many plots, it has some basis in reality, but reality is far more subtle than Kennedy's new call to ban it entirely.
As neuroscientist Celia Ford covered VOX last year, questions about fluorinated water began to grow after the US National Toxicology Program stated with “moderate” confidence that rising fluoride levels could potentially reduce IQ in children.
It's a discovery worth taking seriously, but only in context. The rise in fluoride levels studied in the report was above 1.5 milligrams per liter. Two times Existing federal guidelines on how much additional fluoride communities should add to the water. The effect size was also quite small, reaching 1-2 points.
The real concern is for a small group of around 1.9 million people living near community water sources of more than 1.5 milligrams per naturally occurring fluoride. (These people might want to consider water filters, Ford wrote.
Regarding Kennedy's other claims, such as the relationship between fluorinated water and cancer, the CDC says it is not related to cancer studies in areas with high fluoride levels.
Actual damage that RFK Jr. crusades can do to fluorides
Kennedy may be the best health official in the United States, but he has no final words on whether Americans can access fluoride and reduce the risk of cavities. The state and region manage the water system of the community that serves most Americans. Hawaii, for example, has never approved water fluorination, but practices are not banned entirely.
It can reduce both ways. Kennedy said he hopes other states and cities will follow Utah's lead, and his support could involve some states and local officials in order to advance his ban. However, he cannot change state laws regarding fluorination. In some states in California and Illinois, cities of a certain size need to fluoresce the water. It doesn't seem like they'll get a clue from Kennedy.
The good news is that even if Kennedy can successfully embrace his anti-science platform and remove fluoride from the water supply, the ultimate impact on people's dental health could ultimately be limited. One recent review of the scientific literature points out that water-fluorination studies conducted since 1975, when fluoride was introduced in toothpaste in 1975, have less impact on tooth decay than previous studies.
But even if the practical impact of Kennedy's Crusades is small, it could still be influential. An IPSOS poll in January 2025 did not know whether fluoride was harmful and beneficial. The country's highest health authorities now call for a ban. And the effects of such a prohibition will fall disproportionately to what is most unfavorable.
Coupled with his actions on the vaccine, fear remains that a reckless overhaul of Kennedy's long-standing public health advisories could undermine public confidence and support for a wide range of public health initiatives.
