How fluoride became an unexpected election issue

Polls say these voters are generally anti-establishment and have more unconventional views on health than the majority of people.

Kennedy is a prominent critic of vaccines and has claimed that childhood vaccinations can cause autism.

Last week he said fluoride was “an industrial waste linked to arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease”.

A Trump-led White House will advise U.S. water systems to remove the chemical by Jan. 20, 2025 — Inauguration Day — he added.

The practice of putting small doses of fluoride in American water began in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1945.

In 1962, the US Public Health Service recommended adding small amounts to drinking water to strengthen teeth.

Nearly 210 million people are on fluoridated water systems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest estimates.

The American Dental Association said the move has reduced tooth decay by at least 25 percent.

But as with mass vaccination, water fluoridation has long been the subject of health concerns and conspiracy theories.

These claims have not always been unsubstantiated.

Lower IQ

A US government report published earlier this year suggested that consuming twice the recommended amount of fluoride is linked to lower IQ in children.

In the past, fluoridation has been linked to health conditions such as fluorosis – a build-up of the product in the teeth and bones – as well as bone cancer, reduced brain development and Down’s syndrome.

America’s practice of adding fluoride to drinking water is much more extensive than many of its Western allies, such as Britain, where only 10 percent of Britons have the mineral added to their water supply.

Many European countries have also opted out or phased out artificially increasing fluoride levels in water supplies.

A 2003 survey across 16 European nations found that “the vast majority of people opposed water fluoridation”.

Kennedy’s concerns about fluoride in water come amid growing sentiment in America that its citizens are consuming too many additives — and it’s not the only one of his policies that the Trump campaign seems open to.

In recent years, there has been something of an anti-establishment backlash against products such as processed food and drink, vaccines, and highly chemically enhanced toiletries and cleaning products.

Kennedy has said he wants to ban pesticides, seed oils and food additives.

JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, seemed to echo some of those concerns when he talked about the benefits of ditching processed foods as vegan meat substitutes during a recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.