WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WFLA) — The Winter Haven City Commission voted Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to drinking water after a lengthy public comment period where residents shared health concerns.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to remove the fluoride by January 1, or on a date “as soon as reasonably practical thereafter.”
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The resolution cited a federal court decision that “expressed concerns regarding the effects of fluoride in public water supply.” The court ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to research the effects of fluoridated water and crack down on regulating it.
For many commission members and audience members, the issue at hand was government overreach.
“The government really should not be involved in healthcare, or what goes into the bodies of citizens,” Mayor Pro Tem Brian Yates said, after hinting that fluoride in the water supply and his hyperthyroidism may be correlated. “Those really should be left up to the patient and the (healthcare) provider.”