Fluoride will be banned from Utah water systems by May 7, if Gov. Spencer Cox signs a bill now headed to his desk.
Friday evening, the Utah Senate approved HB81, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, prohibiting fluoride from being added to water systems, the latest battle in a war that has been waged in Utah for five decades.
Fluoride is scientifically proven to strengthen the enamel on teeth and prevent cavities. The Utah Dental Association was among the groups that spoke out against the bill.
But Gricius argued that a court in California had also found that it could potentially cause cognitive issues and said the Environmental Protection Agency should reassess its fluoride standards.
Additionally, she said, a majority of residents should not be allowed to decide whether chemicals should be added to everyone’s drinking water. By eliminating fluoride and making it easier for those who want it to get it from a pharmacy, people can decide for themselves whether they want fluoride or not.
Conservative groups like the Utah Eagle Forum and others rallied to support the bill and succeeded in winning the support to ban it.
Few areas in Utah actually add fluoride to the water. Salt Lake and Davis counties and Brigham City are among a small handful of areas where voters have chosen to fluoridate their water.
Communities have always had the option to remove fluoride if that’s what voters wanted. One of those who testified in support of Gricius’ bill in committee was Brigham City Mayor DJ Bott, who said most of the fluoride added to the city’s water ends up on lawns or showers and the residents are split on whether they want it to continue.
In fact, Brigham City residents defeated a proposition in December 2023, voting to keep fluoride in their water by a margin of more than two-to-one.
Salt Lake County’s council approved a resolution in December, on a 5-4 party-line vote, to support Gricius’ bill.
There was little debate ahead of Friday night’s final passage.
Republican Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, said his county had voted to add fluoride and argued locals can and should decide the issue.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the Legislature telling Salt Lake City, Brigham City, Helper and Davis County that their local authorities can’t do what their residents tell them to do,” Weiler said.
The bill passed on an 18-8 vote with Weiler and Republican Sens. Chris Wilson of Logan and Evan Vickers of Cedar City, who is a pharmacist, voting against the ban. Democratic Sen. Stephanie Pitcher of Salt Lake voted for it.
The bill now goes to Cox for consideration. If he signs it, the bill would take effect May 7.
It is just the latest in a long history of fluoride fights in the Beehive State.
In 1976, Utah voters narrowly passed a ballot initiative, 51.6% to 48.4% — just the second such initiative to pass at that point — banning fluoride from public water systems. At the time, proponents, fueled by the prevalence of the John Birch Society, of the ban argued fluoride was a communist plot.
That ban held until 1998, when the Legislature rescinded the ban and allowed communities to begin adding fluoride to their water systems, providing that voters approve.
Salt Lake County was the first to adopt fluoridation in 2003 after it was passed by voters in the 2000 election. Davis County and a few cities later followed suit.
Nationally, 72% of public water systems are fluoridated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drinking fluoridated water reduces cavities by about 25%. Communities that drink fluoridated water save about $32 per person annually on dental bills.
