A Florida city voted this week to remove fluoride from its drinking water, with one city commissioner citing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s past comments on the matter as one of the reasons.
The city commission in Winter Haven, Fla. voted 3-2 Tuesday to remove fluoride from the city’s water by January 1 next year or “as soon as reasonably practical thereafter,” NBC News’s affiliate WFLA reported. Government overreach was cited as one of the issues as well.
“The government really should not be involved in healthcare, or what goes into the bodies of citizens,” Mayor Pro Tem Brian Yates said on Tuesday, according to WFLA. “Those really should be left up to the patient and the [healthcare] provider.”
During the lengthy debate, Commissioner Brad Dantzler referenced the concerns Kennedy, who President-elect Trump tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, shared on the campaign trail.
“I’ll tell you that after the recent election, President Trump has named Mr. Kennedy to be his H-something-something director, and Mr. Kennedy has made it well known and has publicly said that he wants fluoride out of the water around the entire country,” said Dantzler, who voted in favor to remove fluoride, according to WFLA.
Kennedy has said he would push to remove fluoride from the water supply, an effort that would likely run into challenges.
“So this issue, we may be at the front of it, but this issue is coming just based upon current events and what’s going on in Washington D.C,” Dantzler added.
The former independent presidential candidate, who suspended his bid in August and endorsed Trump, shared his desire to remove the compound regardless of what potential post he would have in the incoming Republican administration.
Fluoride, a naturally occurring substance, has been used in U.S. drinking water since 1945 and is largely considered one of the most important public health measures of the 20th century.
Kennedy has said before that the substance was “associated” with an array of medical issues, but some of the claims are from people who were exposed to fluoride dosages higher than what they would typically experience when drinking fluoridated water.