Utah Could Become America's First State To Ban Fluoride In Public Water (nbcnews.com)
- Reference: 0176582995
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/03/01/2316220/utah-could-become-americas-first-state-to-ban-fluoride-in-public-water
- Source link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna193651
> If signed into law [by the governor], HB0081 would prevent any individual or political subdivision from adding fluoride "to water in or intended for public water systems..." A [2]report published recently in JAMA Pediatrics found a statistically significant association between higher fluoride exposure and lower children's IQ scores — but the researchers did not suggest that fluoride should be removed from drinking water. According to the report's authors, most of the 74 studies they reviewed were low-quality and done in countries other than the United States, such as China, where fluoride levels tend to be much higher, the researchers noted.
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> An [3]Australian study published last year found no link between early childhood exposure to fluoride and negative cognitive neurodevelopment. Researchers actually found a slightly higher IQ in kids who consistently drank fluoridated water. The levels in Australia are consistent with U.S. recommendations.
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> [4]Major public health groups , including the [5]American Academy of Pediatrics , the [6]American Dental Association and the [7]CDC — which says drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities — support adding fluoride to water.
The article notes that since 2010 over 150 U.S. towns or counties have voted to keep fluoride out of public water systems or to stop adding it to their water (according to the anti-fluoride group "Fluoride Action Network"). But this week the American Dental Association (representing 159,000 members) [8]urged Utah's governor not to become " the only state to end this preventive health practice that has been in place for over three quarters of a century."
Thanks to Slashdot reader [9]fjo3 for sharing the news.
[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna193651
[2] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828425?guestAccessKey=f61d2921-6a2b-436a-8710-c9623f148bdf&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=010625
[3] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220345241299352
[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fluoride-safe-drinking-water-cities-ban-rcna143605
[5] https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/oral-health/fluoridation/
[6] https://www.ada.org/resources/community-initiatives/fluoride-in-water
[7] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm
[8] https://www.ada.org/-/media/Project/ADA%20Organization/ADA/ADA-org/Files/Advocacy/Prevention%20and%20Education/utah_cwf_bill_veto_letter_20250225.pdf
[9] https://www.slashdot.org/~fjo3
anti-public health (Score:5, Informative)
Through the covid era, [1]Utah became irrationally opposed to public health [axios.com], surpassing Oregon in that regard.
[1] https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/09/17/utah-vaccine-waivers-kindergarten-mormon-republican
Cholera (Score:3)
If you think fluoride will fuck you up, you should try cholera, typhoid, or cryptosporidium instead. (And you probably will.)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
> If you think fluoride will fuck you up, you should try cholera, typhoid, or cryptosporidium instead. (And you probably will.)
Fluoride isn't added to tap water as a sanitizer, it's added ostensibly because it helps people who can't afford toothpaste ( [1]but how? [dollartree.com]) rot their teeth slightly slower.
The real reason for water flouridation? It's a legal and profitable way to dispose of what is essentially an industrial waste product. Seriously, Google it.
[1] https://www.dollartree.com/ultra-brite-clean-mint-advanced-whitening-toothpaste-6oz-tubes/158066
Re: (Score:2)
Wasn't that long ago that doctors thought it was a good idea to smoke Camels, too.
Re: (Score:2)
Doctors are dumb asses when they are in a position of authority where nobody can question them. And let us not forget, a GP is not the same as a research scientist.
In those doctor's defense, it wasn't until 1954 that research with convincing results was first presented in the Journal of the AMA. While the famous Camel ad was in 1952. And even so, it was just one study, and not every doctor was on board immediately. No some doctors didn't read the paper and weren't aware of it. Some liked the tobacco industr
Re: (Score:2)
Nice logic. "At some point, science has been imperfect. Therefore, we should always ignore science."
Except that that's not what's going on, since you only ignore certain science. Instead, its:
"I'm incredibly gullible and have been convinced by con men to believe crazy unscientific shit. I could follow logic and science to find my way, but that might involve changing my mind and/or confronting my crippling gullibility. So instead, when I want to ignore science, I'll make some obviously stupid remark abo
Re: (Score:2)
> The real reason for water flouridation? It's a legal and profitable way to dispose of what is essentially an industrial waste product. Seriously, Google it.
It's still not a bad idea to add it if the region is naturally deficient in it. Conversely, it's a good idea to reduce it if the region naturally has too much fluoride.
Re: (Score:3)
> "If you think fluoride will fuck you up, you should try cholera, typhoid, or cryptosporidium instead. (And you probably will.)"
Except fluoride doesn't do ANYTHING for those diseases. It is only for tooth decay. It was beneficial way before I was born. But now every toothpaste has PLENTY of fluoride in it (unless you specifically search for one without). And there are dozens of different rinses available as well. There is no need a modern, first-world country to add an unnecessary and *possibly* dan
Next up (Score:4, Funny)
Lead water pipes, liberal panic or the taste of patriotism?
Asbestos, it’s just lung cancer. Walk it off.
Re: (Score:2)
That's not enough, I demand more asbestos. More asbestos! More asbestos! More asbestos!
Re: (Score:2)
Asbestos is the bestest.
Re: (Score:2)
I figured you'd be demanding more lead since you have fond childhood and teenage memories of sweet tasting chips that came off of the walls.
Re: Next up (Score:2)
Lead fluoride is a risk then.
Re: (Score:2)
I was going to look up the pubchem summary for Lead(II) fluoride, but nih.gov is down. I'm going to guess it's a sign my government is collapsing in on itself due to acute Leon poisoning.
Re: (Score:2)
Asbestos works really well and it's cheap. It's difficult to find a substitute that its equal even at twice the price.
Lead is versatile and cheap, to a chemist Lead is an incredible element, with lots of really cool properties for reactions.
Too bad our weak human anatomy doesn't coexist with these wonderful materials. We've been betrayed by our own biology.
Hmm... (Score:1)
Nobody tell them about microplastics.
Nature is out to kill you (Score:2)
Nature wants to make you extinct. It created you, and it created other things whose task is to survive at your expense. Our ancestors understood this, that's why the world modernized. Only idiots started having it good and watching cute animals on wildlife shows they forgot that MOST OF NATURE EITHER WANTS TO EAT YOU OR DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT IF YOU LIVE OR DIE. We need our brains and technology to help us survive. Up until the year 2004, not even one president had lived past age 91. Now we've had FOUR do it.
BYU (Score:2)
Better expand their Dentistry program, if they have one.
Re: (Score:2)
They could have dentists go out in pairs to knock on doors and share their expertise.
Re: (Score:2)
> Utah is the Republican state. Make your own conclusions.
Sometimes Republicans get things right for the wrong reasons. Here in Florida, Disney absolutely had way more autonomy to govern its municipality than what should've been legal. The governor only started having a problem with that after Disney spoke out against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill. Right move, wrong reason.
Similarly, I'm sure Utah's actual motivation is some anti-science nuttery about precious bodily fluids or however the conspiracy goes. But the concept of letting people have the right t
Re: (Score:1)
I was under the impression that Disney got everything they wanted including plans to expand and that DeSantis will be out on his ass next year. He could have played that a lot smarter.
Is he worried about our bodily fluids? (Score:2)
Does his right arm have a mind of it's own?
Interesting... (Score:1)
Flouride occurs naturally in groundwater. Since much of the western USA has flouride in groundwater at *over* the recommended healthy limit I would expect that processing plants there are already removing flouride, at least to below that upper limit. Is the bill going to have much effect?
Maybe not necessary now? (Score:2)
Toothpaste and dental care are ubiquitous now so I'm not sure there's a reason to put it into the water.
It's necessary in some capacity (Score:2)
There's no substitute for fluoride. It makes a child's enamel super tough.
With crunchy conservatives like RFKjr, they'll go after not just fluoride in your city water but in your toothpaste as well. Because sadly, there are lots of brands of toothpaste in the US that are "fluoride-free"
The social cost of having higher rates of dental caries and of tooth loss is significant. I'm sure someone has worked out a dollar amount. Given that it costs a few dollars per person per year to add the fluoride to all the
Who can say (Score:1)
They say that fluoride can cause IQ deficits, for example this study:
[1]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go... [nih.gov]
So... who can say. I'm not sure fluoridation is a cause I can support any longer.
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34051202/
Re: (Score:2)
How much toothpaste do you eat?
"May you live your life as if the maxim of your actions were to become universal law." --Immanuel Kant, pointing out the problems of eating toothpaste.
Re: (Score:3)
You know fluoride is naturally occurring in water right? As in how the hell do you think we figured out it was good for people's teeth? The answer is a bunch of places had way fewer cavities than the rest of the country and a bunch of Eggheads and bureaucrats went to those places to figure out why.
The only time you don't want to add fluoride to water is when the local supply already has more than enough. Which any freaking water engineer is going to keep track of methodically.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Except that was a long time ago, before most people had access to fluoride toothpaste at the damn dollar store. And here's the thing, if you're not brushing your teeth, no amount of dumping [1]what is essentially a waste product into the public water supply will save your teeth. [osu.edu]
In the modern era, if you want to help out people who aren't fortunate enough to afford a tube of toothpaste, you offer some form of government assistance so they can buy it. There's no good reason to continue dumping fluoride into th
[1] https://origins.osu.edu/article/toxic-treatment-fluorides-transformation-industrial-waste-public-health-miracle
Re: (Score:3)
You're going against the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association and the CDC recommendations here.
Re: (Score:1)
> You're going against the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association and the CDC recommendations here.
After almost having my taco night ruined because of a replacement GFCI outlet which would not let me plug in my induction cooker due to some stupid code requirement for tamper-resistance, I'm thoroughly fine with being on the side of the rebels on certain issues. Especially when it comes down to personal choice. I don't need the government assuming I need more fluoride because I can't afford toothpaste, or that somehow a middle aged gay couple is going to produce a child who might stick things in an outle
Re: (Score:2)
Your post sounds like this: "I don't need scientific evidence, I have freedom!" Ok buddy, glad you could replace your outlet.
Re: (Score:2)
It's not just GFCI outlets that do this, and some lower quality outlets are too tight when they're brand new. It should only take a few insertions to wear them down enough that any old plug should insert easy enough. Also, I dunno about you but I prefer GFCI breakers instead of having the GFCI on the outlet itself.
Re: (Score:2)
> It's not just GFCI outlets that do this, and some lower quality outlets are too tight when they're brand new. It should only take a few insertions to wear them down enough that any old plug should insert easy enough. Also, I dunno about you but I prefer GFCI breakers instead of having the GFCI on the outlet itself.
In some cases, GFCI outlets are a more attractive option. For example, in older houses that don't have grounded wiring. I own and live in such a house.
Sure, I could have the house (re-)wired with grounding, but that would be prohibitively expensive.
Re: (Score:2)
Lol, a grown ass adult who couldn't plug something into a tamper resistant outlet. Also, your experience had fuck all to do with GFCI. Your post makes you sound like the exact sort of person who should be protected against themselves. Not for you, but for the people who might either care about you, or take offense to being immolated.
Re: (Score:2)
Do these organizations make this recommendation based on the expectation that most people won't brush their teeth well, or often enough?
My guess is "probably," and probably they are right.
Re: (Score:2)
To an extent, yes, yes they do. It's the same with fortification and supplementation of food, it's done "generously" in the assumption that people won't eat a balanced diet. The first generation of airbags were mandated to be strong enough to help those unbuckled, despite that causing more injuries than airbags properly tuned for those belted, but which wouldn't significantly help those unbuckled.
Same with building codes and more.
Re: (Score:2)
> You know fluoride is naturally occurring in water right?
And in some places, the natural quantity is too high.
Re: (Score:2)
Careful with this science talk! We don't want them to burn us at the stake for our witchcraft.
Re: (Score:2)
It's not about the fluoride you drink (goes right through for the most part). It's about the ions that bond to the outer enamel of your teeth. Toothpaste is a more effective way to treat your teeth.
Re: (Score:2)
> "How much toothpaste do you eat?"
Probably not what you meant, outside of joking. But one don't need to "eat" toothpaste to apply way more than enough fluoride needed to help with tooth care.
Re: Meh... who cares? (Score:2)
Flouride can also cause decay of the skeleton.
Re: (Score:2)
> My toothpaste has way more fluoride than my drinking water, anyway. How much tap water do people really drink anyway?
Single people and empty nesters might eat out often, but most families with kids save money by cooking at home. This means all soups, roasts, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravies, powdered sports drinks, kool aid, spaghetti, rice, oatmeal, ice cubes, etc. will be made with tap water. I don't know too many families that crack open a bottle of Mountain Spring Water to add it to their Campbell's soup. Even our morning coffee is made with tap water, along with the water in people's through-the-door fridg
Re: (Score:2)
If you're concerned about using tap water for cooking and drinking, I'd suggest investing in a reverse-osmosis filtration system and separate tap for your kitchen. They work quite well.
Re: (Score:2)
> My toothpaste has way more fluoride than my drinking water, anyway.
Usually you get shit because of your nick, but you're right. There's full-size tubes of fluoride toothpaste at the dollar store in the ghetto for a buck twenty-five. If someone thinks that's not enough for their pearly whites, Walmart's got a whole damn aisle of various fluoride rinses.
Let people decide for themselves, and amazingly, now with the proper route of administering the drug to boot. It's fucking idiotic that we have a drug intended for topical application to the teeth just added to the drinkin