Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s crusade against fluoride in drinking water took another strange turn Wednesday when he claimed that it’s making kids “stupid.”
During a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Kennedy skimmed through a list of priorities and tasks the Department of Health and Human Services has completed in President Donald Trump‘s first 100 days in office.
At one point, Kenny touched upon fluoride being added to drinking water and commended Utah for becoming the first state to ban local governments from adding the mineral to public water systems. Fluoride was introduced in some American water systems in the 1940s as a way to curb cavities and promote better dental health. Decades worth of studies show its effectiveness.
“Lee Zeldin and I are working together to change the federal fluoride regulations, to change the recommendations,” Kennedy said during the meeting, referring to the Environmental Protection Agency administrator.
“We’re looking at the science now,” he continued, proceeding to cite an August 2024 study from the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which “found that there’s a direct inverse correlation between fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children.”
“The more you get, the stupider you are,” Kennedy claimed. “We need smart kids in this country and we need healthy kids.”
The study noted that its conclusions don’t apply to the level of fluoride in drinking water in the U.S, writing: “There were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ.”
The methodology behind the NTP’s study was also notably criticized by the American Dental Association, which claimed it relied on “unorthodox research methods, flawed analyses, lack of clarity, failure to follow the norms of peer review, and lack of transparency.”
Fluoride can be dangerous in high doses, with the ADA and NIH long warning pregnant women and young children against consuming the mineral in excessive quantities i.e. from too much toothpaste or mouthwash, or even using powdered formula and mixing it with fluoridated water. The ADA recommends that parents watch their children’s intake of fluoride, for example by limiting toothpaste to a pea-sized amount when brushing their teeth or making sure they don’t swallow it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a level of 0.7 milligrams per Liter of fluoride in drinking water.
Kennedy also rehashed his issues with the food industry Wednesday and announced his intent to go after additives he believes are causing a “chronic health epidemic” in the country.
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