U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admits that his anti-fluoride crusade may lead to Americans suffering more tooth decay and cavities. But "it's a balance," he said, without describing what's on the other side of the scales, instead falsely claiming that fluoridation is banned in Europe.
Kennedy's response came after anchor Harris Faulkner asked him how removing fluoride from public drinking water would affect children who don't have access to dentists or proper oral healthcare. Kennedy has been pushing to ban fluoride in public drinking water. In April, during a meeting with President Donald Trump, he said that kids get "stupider" the more fluoride they take in. Kennedy's remarks were met with backlash, as the study he pulled from was criticized for inadequate statistical rigor and other methodological flaws.
The fluoridation standard of no more than 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water is proven to prevent tooth decay. To suffer from fluoride toxicity, one would have to consume 5 liters of water per kilogram of body weight: "the average person would die from drinking too much water before fluoridation of that water could hurt them, according to the Cleveland Clinic." Utah and Florida have banned fluoridation as part of the conspiratorial crusade against the practice.
After Utah passed its fluoride ban in March, the ADA released a statement saying dentists "see the direct consequences fluoride removal has on our patients. …It's a real tragedy when policymakers' decisions hurt vulnerable kids and adults in the long term. Blindly calling for a ban on fluoridated water hurts people, costs money and will ultimately harm our economy," ADA President Dr. Brett Kessler said in a news release.
From this and other false beliefs (such as "metabolically healthy people don't die from covid.") it's clear that RFK Jr. has a "moral" understanding of health in which death is the natural outcome of being unfit to live. He is perhaps the worst imaginable person to have the job that he has—a job that was his reward for supporting Donald Trump.
