Summary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that a Trump administration would prioritize removing fluoride from public water systems, a position at odds with major health organizations like the CDC, the American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, all of which endorse water fluoridation as safe and beneficial for dental health.
Despite Kennedy’s controversial stance on health and environmental issues, which includes previously debunked claims linking vaccines to autism, Trump has praised his passion, stating that Kennedy would have significant freedom to influence health policy if Trump were elected.
Executive Order #1: No American shall receive more than ONE SCOOP of ice cream at a time, EXCEPT the Chief Executive.
The real issues! /s
Great way to send a lot of business to dentists.
Eh… the benefits only really exist for people who don’t brush their teeth anyways, and there actually are some founded concerns about it’s safety. This is one area you should really research more before leaping on the “Trump bad” bandwagon.
Removed for clearly misrepresenting health research findings.
That paper specifically concludes that despite all that, there is no reason to even look into whether fluoridation in drinking water might be a problem because there has clearly been no corollary deleterious effect. So, knowing what it would look like if it was a problem, was enough to know that it isn’t even close enough to warrant checking how close it is. The highest reported extremes of exposure already didn’t cause issue, so there is certainly no cause for concern at normal levels.
The point of it being, that fluoride is, in fact, recognized to be a neurotoxin, so it’s not just people pulling baseless crap out of their asses. There was a time, not long ago, when lead levels in consumer products were believed to be safe.
The paper does not recognize fluoride as a neurotoxin in its current application in Europe:
Overall, despite the remaining uncertainties, and based on the totality of evidence the present review does not support the presumption that fluoride should be considered as a human developmental neurotoxicant at current exposure levels in European countries.
Lead levels in consumer products are now regulated to the point where they’re negligible in terms of the effects on human health, so lead levels in consumer products are safe. We know the toxic level of fluoride; an adult would basically have to eat 2+ full tubes of toothpaste (which has more fluoride than tap water) to die and so your concern is not proportional to the actual level of risk.
This is not true. To elaborate on what the other person who replied said… there is no safe level of lead in consumer products because lead accumulates in the body. Also, lots of consumer products still contain lead because there are loopholes. And the regulations any way aren’t that stringent.
Not that I’m agreeing in an away about the paranoia about fluoridation, but there is no known safe level of lead. Lead concentration is regulated, but whatever the thresholds are, they aren’t based on “safe” levels, just acceptable levels.
https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/lead-poison-and-children-no-amount-lead-safe
The issue is not whether fluoride is good or bad. Conservatives vilify medical experts as “woke” and it that as a reason to dismiss their advice.
I too can cherry pick an article to support my position. The number of cavities in children born in Calgary, Canada within the decade after they removed fluoride from their water was higher than nearby Edmonton who kept fluoride.
We can argue about who has more links to support their argument; or we can argue about whether politicians should govern based on the recommendations of experts, or trust that “they know best”.
That isn’t an article I cherry picked. It’s literally actual research from those “experts” you pretend to worship.
… And it literally actually says it’s not a concern.
Claims to not have cherry picked anything yet follows up with the claim that scientists are fake experts and he doesn’t listen to them.
You’ve exposed your ruse here, bud.
You’re putting words in my mouth. I’m challenging people to actually read and engage with the content, instead of treating scientists like some higher power which must be deferred too, even in absence of understanding.
I’m not putting words in your mouth, you clearly don’t think they’re experts by your use if the snarky quotes around it and stated “you people worship” which obviously excludes yourself from that category.
If you’re trying to challenge people, why aren’t you replying to the multitude of comments pointing out that the study you linked doesn’t say what you think it does?
Why reply the same thing multiple times? I already quoted the very first line, which quite clearly states that there have indeed been multiple studies recently which represent fluoride as a neurotoxin. Whether you agree with them or not, it’s very obvious evidence that concerns are not without foundation.
The article you linked explicitly concludes:
Overall, despite the remaining uncertainties, and based on the totality of evidence the present review does not support the presumption that fluoride should be considered as a human developmental neurotoxicant at current exposure levels in European countries.
You weren’t supposed to read the study! 😅
When you dismiss other scientific evidence like this, it makes it seem less like you are mindfully sharing research for open discussion, and more like you have a link to use as “ammunition” to defend the conclusion you’ve already reached (and won’t be reasoned out of)
These people use research the same way a drunkard uses a lamppost - for support rather than illumination.
(Paraphrasing)
And didn’t even fucking read the article they are attempting to use as ammunition, to boot, the article specifically denies the point they’re trying to make
If I were looking for ammunition, I certainly wouldn’t share something which doesn’t explicitly state my point. I shared this to show, for those honest enough to actually consider it, that there is in fact research suggesting concerns aren’t baseless.
Recently, epidemiological studies have suggested that fluoride is a human developmental neurotoxicant that reduces measures of intelligence in children, placing it into the same category as toxic metals (lead, methylmercury, arsenic) and polychlorinated biphenyls.
Those concerns are for unrealistically high doses though. The last sentence of the abstract you linked:
In conclusion, based on the totality of currently available scientific evidence, the present review does not support the presumption that fluoride should be assessed as a human developmental neurotoxicant at the current exposure levels in Europe.
Calling concerns about the safety of fluoridated water “founded” is a bit of a stretch.
A Pynchon-level conspiracy. I suspect we’ll be seeing some more dentist-on-trampoline accidents.
“Immediately” means a tweet or Truth Social post by Trump that is so vague no one under him knows exactly what they’re supposed to do to enact his order.
And then right back to Day 1 dictatorial stuff like imprisoning political opponents and the press.
Roe v Wade: “This should be decided by the states!”
Fluoride in water: “This should be decided by the federal government!”
???
Not putting fluoride in the water isn’t the same as prohibiting it. If you want to drink it or not simply becomes optional, rather than mandatory. Give people a choice to make with their healthcare provider, otherwise you’re forcing medicine down peoples throat.
https://pharmacy.amazon.com/Sodium-Fluoride-Chewable-Tablet/dp/B084BTB8TY?
Nobody is forcing you to drink tap water.
Fluoride isn’t medicine.
Violating your principals for some undetectable flouride in the water is a small price to pay for an entire area of people to receive better dental prospects.
Flip this round. You still have a choice, buy bottled water.
Oh stfu
Breaking: Trump vows to repeal Ohm’s Law: “States should handle resistance at the local level.”
That’s because they don’t actually have principles.
They’re proposing to ban vaccines too, and they’re not mentioning particular vaccines, just “vaccines”. So no healthcare for trans people or pregnant women, and no vaccines. It’s only a matter of time before someone convinces them antibiotics are the devil’s work.
someone convinces them antibiotics are the devil’s work.
Antibiotics are proof of evolution, since the various microorganisms create resistances to vaccines.
I mean…
At this point let’s just tell them we forbid them from drinking arsenic because, even though it massively increases testosterone production, all liberal science says most humans aren’t strong enough to handle it.
Fucking let moron nature take its course.
They’d probably start putting it in the water.
Except they’ll take a lot of us with them. We need herd immunity, clean air and water, safe roads. They’re going to fuck us all with their idiocy.
You can have safety, or you can have improvement via evolution.
You can’t have both.
You can actually, evolution is driven by selective reproduction, not selective survival. Yes, reproduction is usually tied to survival, but natural selection would still work even if everyone always lived to 80.
It would not select for traits useful for survival though, it would most likely select for traits that get you laid.
This requires us to prevent people from reproducing, we have to pick and choose who can breed.
Gonna put that in the “probably not a great idea” category.
You have seen Idiocracy, yes? About selective reproduction.
I’ve seen the kind of people that reproduce well. Most of them are both immoral and not very smart.
My cousins’ parents are a good exception, though. They are exactly the kind of people that should have children, and their daughters too. My parents, on the contrary, were the kind of people about whom I’d never say that. It’s a pure miracle I’ve turned out at least kinda similar to a human.
On the contrary, the best people I know personally of my generation either have problems they haven’t yet solved or are gay.
OK, then thinking about myself, I actually think I’d not be that bad of a parent, in case one of those strange creatures likes me enough, but it would be really hard.
Anti-what? Ohhh you mean Satan Pills.
Nothing says pro life like returning to 18th century childhood mortality rates 😎
Antibiotics shouldn’t be used as easily as people think, though. Because, ahem, antibiotic resistance is a thing.
It’s a responsible position to only use antibiotics when you really need it. Not when you have cold. EDIT: just in case, by cold I mean cold, not covid
That’s the kind of responsible and sensible advice the Republicans would never give. It requires too much nuance.
I don’t think I’ve heard anything responsible and sensible from politicians with chances to succeed in a two party system.
What year is this? This was a scare back in the 1970.
Un-fortify the wheat now!
/s
“Precious bodily fluids…”
That’s about the time the worm ate through his brain and stopped any further thinking.
It already starved to death.
The crackpots turned out to be right. There is a measurable effect on IQ in areas that fluoridate vs those that don’t.
Additionally, from what I’ve read there doesn’t seem to be a noticeable health benefit.
I think it has a lot to do with how our nutrition and dental care has improved in many ways since they decided adding fluoride to water would benefit people.
It is one point I will give to the conspirturds and nutcases, but a small point. None of this is critical or dire, the effects are marginal and nobody is going to really notice a difference whatever happens. I wish they could have been this concerned about people’s health and well-being when we were you know… being ravaged by an actual lethal virus that was killing millions and is still active and harming people every day.
Did you do your own research on google?
Dude. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ger.12294 (and many other) actual research paper and meta analysis are saying you’re wrong.
Welp, that explains the parasites.
Ah yes, RFKJR, the original cavity creep.
How about making sure 100% of US residents have access to clean, safe tap water first? Eliminate lead and forever chemicals. I don’t feel strongly about fluoride, I do feel strongly you should be able to drink water from your kitchen sink without having to worry.
See that would require 100% of Americans to be rich enough for these chucklefucks to care about us.
Wow are you a commie? Tap water should only contain flammable gas from nearby fracking plants! Yeehaw
That’s how you know what FreedomTM tastes like!
It tastes like burning.
There actually is a huge push to replace ALL lead service lines in the next few years. Also the EPA has extra funding for treatment of “emerging contaminants” which includes PFAS. Republicans are trying (and succeding) to reduce this funding.
Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper:
I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, communist subversion, and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
(…)
[through his cigar] Mandrake,
Group Captain Lionel Mandrake:
Yes, Jack?
Ripper:
Have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?
Mandrake:
Well, no I… I can’t say I have, Jack.
Ripper:
Vodka. That’s what they drink, isn’t it? Never water?
Mandrake:
Well I… I believe that’s what they drink, Jack. Yes.
Ripper:
On no account will a commie ever drink water, and not without good reason.
Mandrake:
Oh, ah, yes. I don’t quite… see what you’re getting at, Jack.
Ripper:
Water. That’s what I’m getting at. Water. Mandrake, water is the source of all life. Seven tenths of this earth’s surface is water. Why, you realize that… seventy percent of you is water.
Mandrake:
Uhhh God…
Ripper:
And as human beings, you and I need fresh, pure water to replenish our precious bodily fluids.
Mandrake:
Yes. [chuckles nervously]
Ripper:
You beginning to understand?
Mandrake:
Yes. [chuckles, begins laughing/crying quietly]
Ripper:
Mandrake. Mandrake, have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water, or rain water, and only pure grain alcohol?
Mandrake:
Well it did occur to me, Jack, yes.
Ripper:
Have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation? Fluoridation of water?
Mandrake:
Ah, yes, I have heard of that, Jack. Yes.
Ripper:
Well do you now what it is?
Mandrake:
No. No, I don’t know what it is. No.
Ripper:
Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?
(…)
Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridated water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake. Children’s ice cream?
Mandrake:
Good Lord.
Ripper:
You know when fluoridation first began?
Mandrake:
No. No, I don’t, Jack. No.
Ripper:
Nineteen hundred and forty six. Nineteen fortysix, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your postwar commie conspiracy, huh? It’s incredibly obvious, isn’t it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That’s the way your hard core commie works.
Mandrake:
Jack… Jack, listen, tell me, ah… when did you first become, well, develop this theory.
Ripper:
Well, I ah, I I first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Mandrake:
[sighs fearfully]
Ripper:
Yes a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I was able to interpret these feelings correctly: loss of essence.
Mandrake:
Yes…
Ripper:
I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women… women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake, but I do deny them my essence.
Wait what? Oh, for a second I thought he was going to remove Florida.
Reasonable confusion!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/fluoridation-water-epa-risk-assessement
The Obama-appointed US judge Edward Chen found fluoridation could cause developmental damage and lower IQ in children at levels to which the public is generally exposed in drinking water. Though the ruling did not state the level at which fluoridation would damage brains, the levels in US water present an unreasonable risk, the court found.
RFK, Antivax shit head moron.
We don’t have it in Quebec, we have more dental health issues on average than in Ontario (our neighbors)
That’s interesting. I thought it was more or less universal. Any idea why?
It was never introduced on a large scale to begin with (Montreal never did it for example) and there’s a group that helps citizens fight it where it’s still done (5 cities still do it).
One of their main argument is that the studies that most cities refer to to defend it date from the 60s/70s and their methodology was so so, more recent research don’t seem to find as much of a difference if socio-economic criterias are taken into consideration (but again, Quebec as a whole vs any other province as a whole should cover that, Quebec is richer than New-Brunswick yet kids have more cavities in Quebec) and there’s the environmental question considering that about 1% of the water is used as drinking water, it’s 99% of the fluoride being wasted.
Sure ok. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.
The issues you’ve mentioned apply generally to fluoridation anywhere. It sounds like the reason why it’s not present in Quebec is that the resistance was better organised.
There’s fluoride in the water here in regional Western Australia, but I fear that’s probably the least concerning additive. I’ve never really thought much about it but apparently there’s chlorine in the tap water, you can smell it from time to time. If you think about it, things love to live in water and keeping it free of things like cholera must take some doing.
Yeah chlorine is everywhere because it’s used to make the water safe to drink, without it I hope you have a good, uncontaminated well, otherwise you can’t drink tap water!
Yeah resistance is better organized to stop it since the 90s, but I think adoption didn’t happen as much back in the day because of the very conservative government in place when it became normalized all over Canada (we call that period of Quebec’s history the great darkness for a reason!)
Sounds like the residents of Quebec just have shitty dental hygiene, and I suspect the same in Ontario. It’s just that the residents of Ontario are having their teeth taken care of by the government, because they can’t do it themselves.
Yea, small children just need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps!
The same thing is seen all over the world when comparing places with and without fluoridation so I guess people in general have shitty dental hygiene so you can cut the holier than thou attitude.
