RIDGE MANOR, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Thursday afternoon at a wedding venue near Dade City, where he signed a bill banning fluoride in water systems statewide.
The law — SB 700, or “Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services” — is a package of agriculture-related provisions which includes a measure banning the use of any additive to public water systems which the state does not consider an improvement to water quality, e.g. fluoride.
The governor last week voiced his intent to sign the bill during an event with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, referring to the practice of community water fluoridation then and now as “forced medication.”
“What they’re basically saying is they’re ignoring any studies that have shown that there could be issues if you’re overexposed to this, particularly for pregnant women and for kids and, but they say, ‘Well, it’s good for your teeth, so we should just force it and you shouldn’t have a choice in that.’ We certainly, now in our society in 2025, we have the ability to deliver fluoride through toothpaste and mouthwash and all these other things. You don’t gotta force it and take away people’s choices,“ DeSantis said Thursday. “(...) I think this fluoride thing was important, we’re leading the way on it, we got kudos from the HHS secretary, RFK Jr., and I know a lot of people were happy to see that and I think you’re going to see a lot of states that are going to follow suit with that.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states fluoride is a mineral that strengthens bones and helps protect teeth by likewise strengthening the outer enamel surface. According to the Florida Department of Health, more than 70% of Floridians as of 2024 lived in places where tap water was fluoridated.
Though the HHS states most people get enough fluoride each day from using toothpaste and mouthwashes, as well as from food and drink made with fluoridated water, it’s the longstanding act of adding fluoride to public tap water and some bottled waters — a method of preventing tooth decay that was made popular several years before fluoridated dental products were available to the public, regarded as among the greatest public health achievements of the last century — that’s drawn increasing scrutiny from skeptics.
Ladapo in November 2024 had issued a memo against community fluoridation — claiming fluoride exposure is linked to neurodevelopment issues, including IQ loss in children — yet the studies he cited involved larger amounts of fluoride than the recommended value for drinking water. Researchers say there is little data to suggest that fluoride is linked to health problems at those federally-recommended levels.
SB 700 also called for a number of other changes, such as:
- Banning the sale, transport, import or sharing of spores capable of producing mushrooms that can contain controlled substances like psilocybin.
- Allowing the Florida Department of Agriculture to make rules regarding the installation, maintenance and operation of electric vehicle charging stations.
- Allowing the agency to provide pest control certificate tests in person and remotely through a third-party entity.
- Letting the agency create rules to ban the sale of plant-based products that are labeled as meat or poultry products.
- Banning local governments from restricting any facilities for agricultural education with groups like Future Farmers of America or 4-H.
- Allowing the agency to temporarily suspend a concealed carry license or application if the person is arrested or formally charged with a crime that would disqualify them from having a license.
SB 700 will take effect July 1.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.