Florida moved closer to becoming the second state to enact an outright ban on fluoride in public water systems.

The GOP-controlled state Senate voted 27-9 in favor of legislation outlawing fluoride in local municipalities.

The bill heads to the Florida House of Representatives.

Fluoride Ban Passes Florida Senate 27-9!🚰

Next it heads to the house for a vote and then to @GovRonDeSantis desk! 🖊️@FluorideAction @standforhealth1 @SodFatherFL @FLSurgeonGen

— Justin Robert (@JustinWeRchange) April 16, 2025

Per Orlando Sentinel:

The bill now goes to the Florida House, which is also GOP-controlled and where similar legislation has received favorable votes in committee. If approved, it would then head to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, who almost certainly would sign the prohibition into law.

“We’re here to hydrate, not medicate,” said state Sen. Keith Truenow, R-Tavares, who sponsored the bill, before the vote. “Here in Florida, we are saying no additives can be used in purifying water.”

Opponents of a statewide ban said it would lead to more tooth decay and other health issues, especially among young children in poor communities.

“This would honestly be a joke, if it didn’t have dangerous consequences,” said Tina Scott Polsky, D-Boca Raton, on the Senate floor before voting against the bill. “Are any of us chemists? None of here are doctors. None of us are dentists.”

The Florida Senate’s move follows Utah, which became the first state last month to enact its ban. The state did so just weeks after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has long expressed suspicion about the safety of water fluoridation — became secretary of Health and Human Services.

Ending fluoridation, once a fringe issue, has gained increasing support across Florida after state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo last August spoke against injecting the cavity-fighting mineral into drinking water. He pointed to a study that found fluoride is linked to lower IQ in children.

Senate passes farm bill banning fluoride in water supply, guarding farmers from ESG practiceshttps://t.co/i5z61thw0W

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 16, 2025

FLORIDA – "Florida is on its way to becoming the second state in the country to ban adding fluoride to public drinking water, parting with a practice once regarded among the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

The Republican-controlled state Senate approved… pic.twitter.com/4wovie3i4a

— Fluoride Action Network (@FluorideAction) April 16, 2025

From the Tallahassee Democrat:

The provision is one part of the 111-page “Florida Farm Bill” (SB 700). Among other things, it requires local governments to issue permits for electric vehicle charging stations, adds consumer protections, establishes the Florida Aquaculture Foundation and a Florida beef marketing program.

But the fluoride measure has garnered the most controversy.

“I hope everyone realizes we are making a massive move here by telling our constituents that they cannot have fluoride in their water even if they voted for it in their local municipality,” said Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton. “This would honestly be a joke if it didn’t have such dangerous consequences.”

Attempts by Senate Democrats to soften the fluoride restriction were all voted down. Amendments that would have allowed local governments to include fluoride if their constituents want it and that would have issued a study on fluoride were called unfriendly and failed.

Sen. Keith Truenow, R-Tavares, said the bill did not speak specifically to fluoride.

“What I’m attempting to address is the mode in which medicines or vaccines can be delivered in the future,” Truenow said. “And that here in Florida, we are saying no additives that are not used in the treatment of purifying water. I remind you, many of the cities in the state of Florida do not use fluoride in their systems, and I do not remember hearing anything about the dental decay epidemic in our state.”