Bruce Stanley

Clean water advocates won a major victory last fall, when a federal court issued a ruling that officially acknowledged the risks of fluoride in the drinking water supply, and ordered the EPA to issue further regulations.

The news came as a relief to the activists and researchers who had been sounding the alarm about fluoride’s risks for decades, but were ignored and labeled “conspiracy theorists”.

Immediately following the court’s decision, several cities announced they were ending the practice. 

Florida entered the arena in November when at a press conference Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo referred to water fluoridation as “medical malpractice”, and released a memo urging municipalities to discontinue it. He argues that he’s not anti-fluoride, and isn’t opposed to fluoride in toothpaste, but agrees that utilities shouldn’t be administering a medical treatment systemically, with no informed consent or ability to opt out.

Organizers sprang into action to insist their local governments put it on the agenda, and at meeting after meeting, the clear majority of citizens were vocally in agreement with Dr. Ladapo’s recommendations, many repeating the same concerns as the court’s findings about studies that showed significant risks to pregnant mothers and on reducing children’s IQ.

At the forefront of covering the statewide effort has been Justin Robert of We Are Change Orlando, who has been speaking out about the issue for over 10 years.

THREE big fluoride wins in Florida today!

New Smyrna Beach voted UNANIMOUSLY to end fluoride! Oviedo voted to leave the system broken due to new state bills to ban fluoride in FL! Leesburg FLIPPED BACK & voted 4-1 to halt construction of their fluoride system!@FluorideAction — Justin Robert (@JustinWeRchange) February 25, 2025

As the movement gathered steam and began racking up win after win, major cities like Naples and then Melbourne followed suit, starting a trend that even nationally syndicated newspapers began to notice, with Washington Post announcing running the headline In Florida, A Rebellion Against Fluoride is Winning. Common sense finally prevailed in many on-the-record discussions as mayors and commissioners weighed the costs with the new findings of risk.

Like most other states, Florida has been adding fluoride to the municipal water supplies since the 1950’s, and utilities have consistently maintained their position that it’s beneficial and refuse to address the studies questioning its harmfulness. But the political winds have shifted on the issue as new headlines continue coming out about toxins in the water have encouraged more and more people to take a second look. Concerns about microplastics in the water supply have even caused the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority to begin construction on a new $100-million dollar facility to specifically address PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”.

Mainstream news articles have complicated the debate by referring to the fluoride that’s added to the water as the naturally occurring mineral, when it’s actually hydrofluorisilicic acid, a byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry that must be carefully handled by utility departments, and is capable of corroding steel, concrete, and glass.

At the state level heading into this years legislative session, Agricultural Commissioner Wilton Simpson introduced language into the 2025 Farm Bill that would prohibit local governments from administering fluoride or any other medical additives to the water supply. But it faces a steep political battle as many high population counties have yet to take up the issue, and would not be happy to be pre-empted from making their own decisions.

Since November, 19 cities and counties around Florida have already ended the practice of water fluoridation-14 of them unanimously. There are now 40 counties in Florida that no longer fluoridate, and 20 of them never have, with no measurable effects on dental health.

All this activity has begun to put pressure on the southern counties, where the majority of the state’s population resides. North Miami Beach, with its 185,000 customers, was the first city to include it on the agenda and schedule a workshop for public comment.

Dr. Ladapo has gone beyond simply issuing the opinion, and has taken proactive steps on the issue by attending local meetings to lobby commissioners to personally advocate for its removal. He has been touring the state along with Dr. Ashley Malin, a University of Florida professor who conducted original research into fluoride’s health effects, picking up on work that was abandoned in 1995 after funding was pulled on a landmark study and researchers became too afraid to touch the subject.

Dr. Malin and Dr. Ladapo were invited by Commissioner Roberto J. Gonzalez to deliver a presentation to Miami-Dade County at a Special Presentation Regarding Community Water Fluoridation on March 11th. Although no vote was taken at the meeting, unlike elected officials in most of the rest of the state, the leadership present who commented were mostly skeptical and disinterested in their recommendations.

Much of the media coverage was also dismissive, with the Miami Herald calling the reception “lukewarm” and casting suspicion on the panel’s findings.With a vote set to take place before any other cities in the county weigh in, a major advocacy push is going to be needed to cross the strong political barriers, but if the entirety of Florida were to go fluoride-free, it would be a major step toward joining 95% of the rest of the world that has already ended the practice.

To find out if your area is still adding fluoride, and to get involved in encouraging your local officials to stop fluoridation, follow Stand For Health Freedom, a medical freedom group that has assembled a handy fluoride advocacy toolkit.