PALM BAY, Fla. – Another Central Florida city has chosen to keep a certain chemical out of tap water.
The polarizing debate lately over whether fluoride is good or bad for you and whether local utilities should add that chemical to your water was brought up in a Palm Bay City Council meeting last week.
According to News 6 partner Florida Today, the council unanimously voted to not add fluoride to the city’s water supply.
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According to newly-elected councilman Chandler Langevin, Brevard County’s largest city has actually not put fluoride in tap water for about nine years due to machinery failures, but he still wants to talk about the hot topic.
”First and foremost, we need to inform the citizenry and be honest about what we are doing,” Langevin said. “Second, the Surgeon General of Florida, Joseph Ladapo, just released a report that is now saying that while fluoride might be good for teeth, it is possibly lowering the IQ and acting as a neurotoxin for our youth and for babies still in the womb,” he continued. “Personally, I wanna not fluoridate the water, continue to not fluoridate the water, but we need to have that discussion and make that official determination tomorrow night.”
Prior to the council meeting, Langevin told News 6 reporter James Sparvero he expects some residents and dentists, a well, to take his side.
”There’s multiple arguments to be made, but ultimately, what we’re talking about is the government force-medicating its population,” he said. “Like, if you want more fluoride for your kid, you can go brush their teeth, go get fluoride products from the store to put fluoride on their teeth. They don’t have to constantly swallow it all day. Other conversations might involve changing a diet, which might be good, and taking in less sugar.”
According to Florida Today, dozen speakers — including several dentists — gave public comments at the meeting to ask council members to reject fluoridation of city drinking water. No speakers spoke in favor of fluoridation.
Just last month, Tavares decided to nix fluoride while Leesburg voted to keep it in its water system.
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