LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Lee County commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to take away fluoride from ingesting water, with Florida Surgeon Common Joseph Ladapo current on the assembly advocating for the elimination.
Ladapo, a staunch advocate for eradicating fluoride from ingesting water as a consequence of considerations about potential well being dangers, spoke throughout the assembly, and referred to as it “insane” to proceed to help fluoride “with the data that now we have now.”
“And you understand, who suffers essentially the most? Effectively, up to now, it’s youngsters and pregnant girls,” Ladapo stated. “These are essentially the most delicate populations. That’s the place the strongest knowledge are. And clearly, particularly for our youngsters, simply why on Earth’s identify would we ever proceed to show them to one thing that’s completely avoidable?”
Lee County Utilities, one in all roughly 10 utility suppliers within the county, together with each municipal and unbiased operators, introduced that Tuesday’s resolution would take impact instantly and apply completely to Lee County Utilities prospects.
“Fluoride is an unregulated additive, as soon as strongly really helpful by the federal Environmental Safety Company (EPA) and the Florida Division of Environmental Safety (FDEP),” a press launch stated.
“Nevertheless, because the Florida Surgeon Common publicly opposed its use, FDEP now permits communities to determine whether or not to make use of fluoride, with no penalties to the water utilities for discontinuing this system,” it stated.
Ladapo introduced in November that Floridians ought to concentrate on security considerations related to systemic fluoride publicity, together with:
Based on the Florida Division of Well being, whereas as soon as thought-about a typical public well being measure, fluoridation has confronted growing scrutiny.
In recent times, many U.S. municipalities and several other European nations, together with Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden, have opted to remove or cut back water fluoridation. The rising concern over potential well being dangers, notably neuropsychiatric results, has fueled this shift in coverage.
Analysis has constantly proven that fluoride helps strengthen tooth, making them extra immune to decay. Nevertheless, with ongoing considerations concerning the potential dangers of extreme fluoride publicity, extra research are being performed to raised perceive its broader results on public well being.
In November, President Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the Secretary of Well being and Human Providers place.
Forward of the November election, Kennedy vowed to assist take away fluoride from public water.
Lee County follows a rising variety of different Florida cities opting to take away fluoride from its ingesting water, together with Ormond Seaside, Melbourne, Winter Haven, Palm Bay and Port St. Lucie.
