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Fluoride - not in our water

  • Apr 22
  • 3 min read

Updated: Apr 26

In 2025 in the US, the first country to fluoridate, over 75 towns, cities and councils have stopped water fluoridation. In 2025, bi-partisan legislation to stop fluoridation was introduced in an unprecedented 18 states. Also, federal court action is currently underway to require warnings to pregnant women if water continues to be fluoridated.



What events have led to this?

Basically, more and more research is finding that fluoride is a neurotoxin, damaging brain cells, especially in the unborn brain.


In 2024–2025, after nearly nine years of review, the US National Toxicology Program reported that higher fluoride exposure is linked to lower IQ in children, with some studies finding effects at levels similar to those in fluoridated drinking water (Taylor 2024). This matters because fluoride exposure does not come from water alone, but also from processed foods and drinks like juice made with fluoridated water, pesticide residues, industrial products and dental products, all of which add to total intake.


A 2024 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that higher fluoride exposure in pregnancy was linked to about double the risk of behaviour and brain problems in children in Los Angeles (Malin 2024). It is one of several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health linking fluoride to possible effects on brain development. 


Fluoride exposure could, in fact, have long term effects on brain health across the whole population. A study just published suggests that fluoride may affect the brain slowly over time, not just at a certain age, and that brain damage is associated in adults with high levels of fluoride as well (Yang 2026).


Apart from cognitive disorders, research has associated other effects as well with fluoridated water, including hypothyroidism, kidney and liver function, and eye disease (Fluoride Free NZ 2024).


In New Zealand currently about 60% of the population receive fluoridated water, and the Government with its current policy under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 has directed various councils to fluoridate their water, with an initial fine of $200,000 and a further $10,000 a day if this is not carried out. The government has long said water fluoridation "is a safe, effective, and affordable way to prevent and reduce tooth decay for everyone." However, critics have argued this ignores scientific evidence that questions this claim, including concerns about study quality and various harmful health effects. 


Regulatory authorities continue to underestimate public health risks by failing to account for neurotoxicity—harm to the brain and nervous system that can affect learning, behaviour and development.

This shortcoming is not limited to fluoride but extends across a range of substances, including pesticides such as chlorpyrifos and glyphosate, as well as additives like food colouring and aspartame.


Science moves forward, but regulation has not kept pace. Emerging evidence of neurodevelopmental harm deserves serious attention, especially when exposure is unavoidable and population‑wide. When risks to brain development are minimised or ignored, the greatest burden falls on the most vulnerable—children and unborn babies. 

Fluoride should be removed from our drinking water, and until that occurs, baby formula should carry clear warnings advising parents not to use fluoridated water.




References


Alison White April 2026


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