Miami-Dade County in Florida has become the latest jurisdiction to eliminate fluoride from its water supply, following an 8-2 commission vote.
The change is set to take effect in 30 days unless Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava exercises her veto power. The initiative, championed by Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, is expected to be well-received by local residents. “If you don’t want to consume this, you don’t have to,” Gonzalez stated.
He further emphasized that residents would now have autonomy over their fluoride consumption, saying, “Our residents are going to be able to make the choice themselves whether they want to ingest something that’s usually prescribed by a doctor, or whether they can just have clean water.”
This decision follows similar actions taken by other Florida communities. Winter Haven previously removed fluoride from its water system before Donald Trump’s presidency, with a narrow 3-2 vote. Their decision was influenced by warnings from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who later became Health and Human Services Secretary. During his confirmation proceedings, Kennedy addressed criticisms about his stance on fluoride. “I was called a conspiracy theorist because I said fluoride lowered IQ. Last week, JAMA published a meta review of 87 studies saying that there’s a direct inverse correlation between IQ loss.
I could go on for about a week,” he stated. Lee County has also unanimously voted to eliminate fluoride from their water supply. At their meeting, Ladapo expressed strong opposition to water fluoridation, stating that it is “insane to continue to support this” and emphasized that “you know who suffers the most? Well so far, it’s children and pregnant women. Those are the most sensitive populations. That’s where the strongest data are.”
Lee County Board of Commissioners Vice Chairman Cecil Pendergrass assured residents that alternative fluoride sources would remain available, stating, “Obviously, we’re going to obviously provide fluoride for people if they need it, but there will be ways for them to get it.” This trend has culminated in Utah becoming the first state to implement a complete ban on water fluoridation, with Governor Spencer Cox’s signed legislation taking effect May 7.
