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Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

bbc.com

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Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#71

Post by WillPostForFood »

jedberg wrote: post #14
WillPostForFood wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not following closely, but is this pseudoscience? https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/fluoride-childrens-health-gran... https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/assessments/noncancer/...

Those are based on countries with much higher levels of fluoride than the USA adds. Follow up studies have found the levels in the USA to be perfectly safe and in fact beneficial since poor people don't get dental care like they do in other countries.

Please share study that shows it is safe in the US for children. The EPA allows up to 2mg/L in water and we have some evident that 1.5mg/L has negative effects on children.

HN Comments were very credulous before the election. Shows how flexible belief in science is.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39235663

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#72

Post by rayiner »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #64
rayiner wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did many European countries discontinue fluoridation? https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/11/23/trump-could-push-... > However, in 1973, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that there was no legal basis for fluoridation…. The debate hasn’t been meaningfully revived since then, Hofman told Euronews Health. "People started to say, ‘Well, the government should not give us some medicine [when] we cannot choose where to bu…

> Why did many European countries discontinue fluoridation? Could it have something to do with the increasing use of fluoridated toothpaste?

Probably. But why take fluoride out of the water?

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#73

Post by culi »

jiggawatts wrote: post #44

I initially dismissed it as the same category of stupid as anti-vax beliefs, but it turns out that there are a decent amount of good studies showing a link between fluoride in water and (slightly) lower IQ when pregnant mothers ingest the fluoride. Note that there is no significant effect after birth. The idea is to remove fluoride from water and advise pregnant women to use fluoride-free toothpaste. Everyone else ca…

The IQ link is very heavily lacking in evidence.

In the actual research the main "risk" posed by flouridated water is actually fluorosis. This causes minerals in your enamel to be replaced with flouride which can cause them to be brittle in the long term. It's pretty uncommon but the thought is that now that flouride toothpaste are commonplace, the benefit of flouridated water is also way less. Which changes the calculus.

A not insignificant number of researchers are advocating for the view that flouridating water just isn't worth it anymore and the (slight) risk of flourosis is more significant than the (slight) benefit of decreased dental caries.

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#74

Post by Speedy218 »

jiggawatts wrote: post #44

I initially dismissed it as the same category of stupid as anti-vax beliefs, but it turns out that there are a decent amount of good studies showing a link between fluoride in water and (slightly) lower IQ when pregnant mothers ingest the fluoride. Note that there is no significant effect after birth. The idea is to remove fluoride from water and advise pregnant women to use fluoride-free toothpaste. Everyone else ca…

> but now it is “overmedicating” a vulnerable fraction of the population.

Makes sense, but the intention also is that many people do not brush their teeth, or at least do not brush them as often as they should, and so fluoride is added to drinking water to compensate so people's teeth don't start to fall out at an alarming rate.

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#75

Post by culi »

BJones12 wrote: post #16

Note that while this may be first state to ban fluoride, it's not the first state to not have fluoride in the water. That would be Hawaii (effectively).

all states were "the first to not have flouride". In 1945 Grand Rapids, MI became the first city in the world to flouridate its water

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#76

Post by timeon »

elif wrote: post #70
TMWNN wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is, according to Wikipedia, among a small minority of countries in which a majority of people drink fluoridated water. Various European countries have discontinued doing so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation >

Fluoridation, imperial measurement, 20% tips, taxes added at the register, and circumcision are the weirdest things Americans think everyone does.

> 20% tips

Is this real?

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#77

Post by kevingadd »

timeon wrote: post #76
elif wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fluoridation, imperial measurement, 20% tips, taxes added at the register, and circumcision are the weirdest things Americans think everyone does.

> 20% tips Is this real?

Yeah the lowest option on some point of sale systems now is 20.

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#78

Post by culi »

dataflow wrote: post #6

What is the best evidence in favor of this?

Actual reseachers don't really talk about links to IQ. The main concern is actually around dental fluorosis. Too much flouride can replace minerals in your teeth causing them to become brittle over time

There's a subset of researchers that argue that now that fluoride toothpaste is widespread, the benefit of fluoridating water is much much smaller than it first was and the (small) risk of fluorosis is now comparatively more significant

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#79

Post by davidmurdoch »

poisonarena wrote: post #25
tayo42 wrote: post #15

> Republican state lawmaker Stephanie Gricius - who introduced the bill in the state legislature - has argued that there is research suggesting fluoride could have possible cognitive effects in children. It's kind of amazing to say something like that then be so inconsistent on things that will have real outcomes that make life better for kids. They're all for cutting school support and social services.

is Utah cutting school support and social services?

[flagged]

Re: Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water

#80

Post by NortySpock »

timeon wrote: post #76
elif wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fluoridation, imperial measurement, 20% tips, taxes added at the register, and circumcision are the weirdest things Americans think everyone does.

> 20% tips Is this real?

Yes, for nearly any restaurant this is the unspoken recommendation, and sometimes enforced automatically if your group is larger than 6-8. Source: I am an American.
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