Utah Becomes First State to Ban Community Water Fluoridation

Utah is the first state to ban fluoride from public drinking water systems, upending decades of state practice.

The new law (HB 81), signed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R), applies to the whole state, meaning city and county residents can no longer decide individually whether to fluoridate their water. Currently, localities require a majority vote to start or cease fluoridation programs. The law will go into effect on May 7.

Utah’s first-in-the-country law comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has raised alarm bells about fluoride’s purported effect on IQ scores, steps into a new role leading the US Department of Health and Human Services.

About half of Utah’s population was receiving fluoridated water from community water systems as of 2020, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

At least three other states, including New Hampshire and Tennessee, are weighing similar fluoride bans, according to Bloomberg Government data. A handful more are considering repealing statewide fluoridation programs or limiting the compound’s concentration.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has toured Florida in recent months urging community leaders to stop adding fluoride to city water. This comes after Ladapo issued guidance in November recommending against fluoridation, citing recent studies that he claimed showed a “neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure.”

Public health professionals have denounced the efforts to restrict or end fluoridation, which the CDC has labeled one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. As of 2015, drinking fluoridated water reduces tooth decay by approximately 25% in children and adults.

The Utah Department of Health & Human Services has defended the benefits of fluoride for dental health, but spokesperson Katie England said in an email that “there are effective alternative methods of treatment delivery.” She noted the Utah measure provides access to treatment for Utah residents through a prescription at a pharmacy.