AI Summary:
- Utah is poised to ban fluoride in public water systems, pending the governor’s signature.
- The bill prohibits adding fluoride to public water and repeals previous related laws.
- Federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized fluoride, influencing the bill.
- Studies on fluoride’s impact on children’s IQ have mixed results, with some showing negative effects and others showing no harm.
- Major public health groups support fluoridation for dental health benefits.
- The anti-fluoridation movement has gained popularity post-Covid-19.
- Similar legislation is proposed in Florida, emphasizing the importance of consent in public health measures.
Obviously fluorinated water is fine but having never grown up with it, it seems kind of unecessary. Maybe stop shoving sugary food and drinks in everyone’s faces would have a better impact?
This is anecdotal.
Public health management isn’t really the same as making health related decisions for yourself and your family.
As a public health measure fluoridation of water is an undeniable success. It has reduced the incidence of dental cavities by about a third, with better results in rural and poorer demographics.
While I understand that it’s a useful, effective measure, I’m amazed that it’s needed at all. Most of Europe, despite having a comparable or on paper lower wealth status, has never heard of this as far as I can tell, and the introduction of the practice isn’t being discussed. What gives the US needs it?
Interesting. I didn’t know that.
I’m in Australia BTW, about 90% of our water is fluoridated.
There’s lots of information about various countries here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_by_country
I think a summary to answer your question is that it varies by region, in some areas there’s enough fluoride present in the water naturally, in others fluoride is added to table salt, in some there’s just no support for this measure.
That makes quite a lot of sense, yeah. Different regions be different, who woulda thunk :D
In Europe, it varies by geology and country. Some places add fluoride to water, some to salt, some rely on fluoride toothpaste or mouthwash. https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/fluoridation/en/l-2/1.htm
So rural and poor communities dont have access to healthier options or proper dental care and the solution your country picked was to put fluoride in the water instead of trying to actually support the poor.
What a country.
Hmm. You realise we’re talking about Australia right? We have some of the best universal healthcare, and social security in the world.
Additives like fluoride in water, iodine in salt, and folic acid in flour disproportionately benefit people with lower incomes because in many cases their nutrition and other health care is not great due to lifestyle preferences, or co-morbidities that are resistant to health interventions like substance abuse or mental illness or cultural norms.
Another problem in Australia is low population density. A small town might be several hundred kilometers from the nearest dentist. If everyone in that place agrees to fluoridate the water, where’s the harm in that ?
We do have government funded free dental services, although I admit the wait times can be considerable.
This is more targeted towards the poorest and least educated of the community. Eating healthy and having a stable home with healthy habits is expensive.
Define “unnecessary “. Seriously.