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Will the US government stop recommending fluoride in water?

RFK Jr. claims all manner of ailments stem from fluoride.

Sep 17, 2025
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A high-profile fight over a low-cost chemical is gathering steam in Washington, but policy machinery moves slower than headlines and culture wars. The question for traders: can HHS force an official Public Health Service pullback on community water fluoridation by the New Year, or will this sit in review while states go their own way?

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Who Holds The Lever

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made this a personal policy agenda. He said he would instruct CDC to stop recommending community water fluoridation, calling fluoride an industrial waste product. HHS and EPA announced a scientific review of fluoride in drinking water amid litigation pressure on EPA to reassess risks.

States are moving faster than Washington. Utah enacted a statewide ban on adding fluoride to public systems, the first in the country. Florida followed, becoming the second state to ban fluoridation in public water supplies.

Meanwhile, the CDC leadership is newly installed. The Senate confirmed Susan Monarez as CDC Director in late July. She has pledged “to restore trust” and modernize the agency under budget pressure. Translation: she inherits this fight but is unlikely to front-run anything.

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