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A bill to ban the use of the mineral in public water passed the Florida House 88-27. It now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature.

Lawmakers in Florida gave final passage to a bill to ban fluoride in public water systems Tuesday, with the state House voting 88-27.

SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, doesn't mention the word "fluoride," but it would effectively ban the chemical compound by preventing "the use of certain additives in a water system." The bill awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

If DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride from water supplies.

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[–] ryrybang@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Leave Florida if you can. Especially if you have or are expecting children. Moving isn't always possible, but if you live in Florida know that your state is actively trying to hurt you.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

You don't need municipal water to be fluoridated if you just want your kids to have fluoridation. When I was a kid, we didn't have fluoridation available in our municipal water, and so my folks got themselves a water cooler and ordered delivery of five gallon bottles of fluoridated water for it. Mom made a point of making milk with it from powdered milk so that everyone got their fluoridation. You can still get those bottles.

I mean, I'm sure that the great bulk of people aren't going to do that, and that it's going to lead to dental problems down the line, but it's not like an individual can't get ahold of the water if they want it. Costs more per unit of water volume to have it delivered than to pipe it in, but then, you're not drinking all that much volume of water, either; most residential water use goes to things other than drinking.

EDIT: Plus, if you have a water cooler, you also can have chilled water. We didn't have a powered cooler; ours was just an unpowered, gravity-fed dispenser, but all of the modern-day ones I've run into in offices have a chiller.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+dispenser+cooler

If I lived in (tropical) Florida, I'd probably want to have chilled water handy...

[–] LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yet another expense lumped onto American citizens that is entirely avoidable

[–] ToastedRavioli@midwest.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not to mention infeasible for people already struggling to afford food and other basic necessities. Which means they will struggle to afford the dental care from not being able to afford privatized fluoride.

Its all a trap to push people in poverty into deeper states of vulnerability, eventually prison, and therefore free labor for the state

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[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago

You don't leave Florida because you want flouride in your water. You leave Florida because it's the type of state that would ban flouride in the water.

[–] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 0 points 1 year ago

Being able to circumvent their measures doesn't mean they aren't actively trying to increase harms for residents.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

You're kinda missing the point. It doesn't stop at flouride. It doesn't stop at deregulating manufacturing waste. Nothing in politics is "just one thing" it's either an up or down trend that continues until people force change.

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[–] wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io 0 points 1 year ago

You know who doesn’t need Fluoride in their drinking water? People with dentures.

Checkmate whipper snappers.

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[–] Wahots@pawb.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ban chlorine and chloramine in the water too! The microorganisms will strengthen your immune system. Just like Haiti. :)

[–] TheMightyCat@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (16 children)

Unironcally yes, it shouldn't take much convincing that a substance as dangerous as chlorine mostly known for being used as a chemical weapon shouldn't be in drinking water when UV sterilization exists and is proven.

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

You think chlorine is mostly known for being used as a chemical weapon? Not, you know... Swimming pools?

You're a good example of why people make bad choices about science related public policy.
First, the poison is in the dose. There's a big difference between inhaling concentrated chlorine gas and drinking trace quantities.
Second, how do you propose we uv sterilize the water? We'd need to do so at the plant, but also at any holding cisterns. Or were you thinking of retrofit for houses? And not all microorganisms are strongly impacted by UV. It's tricky to find legitimate research, since the people who sell them say they work great, but what's out there paints a different picture of efficacy.

[–] TheMightyCat@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I already edited it to infamously anyways thats what comes to my mind at first when i think of chlorine.

And how would i propose we do this? By living in a country that already does it. Here is the page of my local water provider:

https://www.evides.nl/uw-drinkwater/productieproces/de-zuiveringsprocessen

Daarna maken we het water bacteriologisch betrouwbaar: de hoofddesinfectie. Dit gebeurt door middel van ultraviolet licht (UV).

Then we make the water bacteriologically reliable: the main disinfection. This is done by means of ultraviolet light (UV).

Being used to this type of water when i go on vacation it really smells like im drinking swimming pool water.

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[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

mustard gas is not the same as chlorinated water, or even bleach and ammonia. its a different compound.

[–] TheMightyCat@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

I was not talking about Mustard gas but chlorine gas, according to wikipedia first deployed on masse during tbe Second battle of Ypres by the germans.

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[–] jonne@infosec.pub 0 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Does your tap have a UV light in it, or do you think there's no possibility of bacterial growth between the water processing plant and your house?

[–] oKtosiTe@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Stop being so negative. They’ve clearly given this a lot of thought. At least two to three seconds.

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[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

a substance as dangerous as chlorine

Water is often said to be the "element of life", and we need oxygen to live. But if you add one oxygen atom to a water molecule you end up with H2O2, or hydrogen peroxide, which is deadly.

This is the thing that the majority of people don't understand about chemistry. Just because one chemical (water is a chemical, btw) has the same word in its name as another chemical that's known to be highly toxic doesn't mean they're both toxic.

Chemistry is insanely complex and we are entirely unable to evaluate the toxicity of a chemical just by its name (without prior knowledge).

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[–] ModestCrab@lemmy.wtf 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How about dazzle points? Sparkleshine?

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 0 points 1 year ago

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/03/nx-s1-5165364/how-the-john-birch-societys-conspiracies-led-to-political-divides-in-the-1960s

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DR. STRANGELOVE")

STERLING HAYDEN: (As General Jack D. Ripper) Have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation - fluoridation of water?

PETER SELLERS: (As Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake) Yes, I have heard of that, Jack. Yes.

DALLEK: The Birch Society argued that fluoride in the drinking water was a massive wedge for socialized medicine, which was spoofed in the Stanley Kubrick film, "Dr. Strangelove."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DR. STRANGELOVE")

HAYDEN: (As General Jack D. Ripper) Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr2bSL5VQgM

[–] 18107@aussie.zone 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

When are they going to ban dihydrogen monoxide?

[–] Embargo@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

They probably should in some parts of the U.S. right? It's that badly contaminated.

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

More like DEI Hydrogen Monoxide

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[–] doug@lemmy.today 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Take iodine out of salt while you’re at it.

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[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago

Florida bans fluoride, eh? Florida… man.

[–] athairmor@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bring back asbestos, Florida! And leaded gasoline!

[–] LanguageIsCool@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

And gas station bath salts!

[–] toy_boat_toy_boat@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Don't worry, y'all, they're probably gonna make lead pipes great again, too!

edit - that way, you can all look and act like wild bill from the green mile! isn't that GREAT?

[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

second?

Who the fuck was the first?

[–] wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Ah, coulda guessed it'd be them. Only place I lived where I couldn't find redeeming qualities.

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[–] BigMikeInAustin@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

So if they don't use the word "fluoride," does that mean the purpose is that the bill is open to interpretation depending on what they politically need at the time?

Or will the Republicans pass this bill and claim victory, but will actually just leave fluoride in the water?

[–] BigMikeInAustin@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

All those MAGAs thinking it will save government money and that the citizens will see that savings. Even if the savings was fully passed to the general public, it's going to be very tiny.

[–] Guidy@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What a stupid and shitty timeline we’re living in. Holy shit.

[–] j0ester@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Florida was always stupid. Anything they do, will not surprise me.

[–] Naich@lemmings.world 0 points 1 year ago (5 children)

There is evidence that there is a correlation between fluoride in water and lower IQ in children. It's difficult to show causation, but it's something that should be investigated. Pausing fluoridation while this happens would seem sensible.

I think this is the first time I've ever defended something these arseholes have done. Feels weird.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5285601/

[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Lol I'm sure Florida is so on top of that research

[–] wicked@programming.dev 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The mean IQ level was more in the region with medium fluoride concentration in drinking water (56.68) compared to areas with low fluoride concentration (41.03) and high fluoride concentration (31.59).

So according to that study, having "medium levels" (1.2-2ppm) of fluoride is much better. I checked three random water reports in Florida which had 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 ppm.

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[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

flouride also stregnthens the teeth, its a fact. the anti-flouride people still complaining how they are getting cavaties despite using all thse flouride free toothpastes. alot of them ventured into using n-HA as a replacement, but the effects are very unpredictable and hasnt be reliabe, i think you need confirmed 10% n-HA for the toothpaste to repair the teeth.

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[–] Kcap@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago
[–] SpicyLizards@reddthat.com 0 points 1 year ago

Well, don't need fluoride if you don't have teeth

[–] then_three_more@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Yanks love to stereotype Brits as having bad teeth when statically your teeth have more cavities and removals (our dentistry focuses on health over cosmetics). Hopefully shit like this can fully kill that off that stereotype.

[–] waterSticksToMyBalls@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's only because we have states like Alabama skewing our statistics

[–] Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's also a diet thing and a result of people damaging their teeth with whitening and cheap veneers.

[–] turtlesareneat@discuss.online 0 points 1 year ago

The majority of people I know with dental issues couldn't afford to have minor things fixed so they turned into major things.

Dental insurance is a joke and lots of people don't even get that joke.

[–] then_three_more@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

No it's because your bread has so much sugar the rest of the world would call it cake.

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[–] WhatSay@slrpnk.net 0 points 1 year ago

They are deporting teeth too

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