Utah Becomes First US State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

Utah has become the first state in the US to ban fluoride from public drinking water after Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed the legislation late Thursday, prohibiting cities and communities from deciding whether to add fluoride to their water systems, in a move that has sparked strong opposition from dentists and national health organisations, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

The decision comes despite long-standing scientific consensus that fluoride strengthens teeth and prevents cavities, the report stated, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Utah lawmakers who supported the ban cited cost concerns, arguing that adding fluoride to water systems was too expensive. Cox, who grew up in an area without fluoridated water, compared fluoridation to being “medicated” by the government and defended the move as a matter of individual choice.

The ban also comes just weeks after US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has voiced skepticism about water fluoridation — was sworn into office.

According to the report, more than 200 million Americans—almost two-thirds of the population—receive fluoridated water. However, some cities across the US have started removing it, and a recent federal court ruling ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate fluoride levels due to concerns about potential risks to children’s intellectual development at high doses.

Critics have argued that the fluoride ban will disproportionately affect low-income residents, many of whom lack access to regular dental care and rely on fluoridated water for cavity prevention, the report said.

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