Texas agriculture commissioner urges ban on fluoride in water

AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who is not a doctor, urged state officials to ban the decadeslong practice of adding fluoride to public water, echoing similar calls from the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Miller told The Dallas Morning News he was swayed by newly confirmed U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to “Make America Healthy Again.” Calling fluoridation a “delivery system for government-mandated chemicals,” Miller said the issue boils down to personal freedom. “I don’t want big brother telling me what to do,” Miller said by phone. “Government has forced this on us for too long.” It was not immediately clear how likely Texas legislators are to pass a ban, and no such legislation had been filed by Wednesday afternoon. A spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott said in a written statement the governor “looks forward to working with legislature to ensure Texans have a safe, reliable water supply for the next 50 years.” He did not say whether Abbott would support a ban on fluoridation.

Lawmakers in several states, including Tennessee, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Utah, have proposed similar bans. Last year, Florida’s surgeon general advised cities to stop adding fluoride, calling it “public health malpractice.” In November 2024, Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, called fluoride “an industrial waste” and said the Trump administration would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride. Fluoride occurs naturally in water, soil, food and other sources. In 1946, the city of Marshall became the first city in Texas and one of the first three in the U.S. to add it to water to prevent tooth decay, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. The East Texas city recently ended the practice due to broken equipment. Most North Texas cities, including Dallas and Fort Worth, add fluoride to the water supply. Across the state, more than 100 public water systems, serving nearly 10 million people, fluoridate the water. Abilene last year paused fluoridation, citing public health concerns. A majority of Americans live in places with fluoridated water systems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which lists fluoridation as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.