Urge Tennessee Legislators to Support HB 2396 to Ban Water Fluoridation

Great news! Momentum is building quickly around HB 2396. If you already took action on our first alert, thank you! Now it’s crucial that we keep it going by contacting more legislators and making it clear just how strongly Tennesseans support banning fluoride from the drinking water.

With fluoridated water posing serious health risks, especially to children, it’s critical that we let both the Tennessee House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee know that the people of Tennessee want to end needless exposure to a known toxin in their drinking water.

On March 4th, HB 2396 passed the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee, and will now move on to the full House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, March 10.

This legislation is extremely important to the health of Tennesseans considering that fluoride is linked to:

• Harmful neurotoxic effects especially in undernourished children and formula-fed infants
• Increased risk of cognitive impairment and lower IQs
• Increased risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Increased risk of dental fluorosis which can cause permanent discoloration of teeth
• Increased risk of skeletal fluorosis which can cause pain and damage to bones and joints, increasing the risk of fractures
• Increased risk of thyroid dysfunction

Not only are the health risks of concern, but the potential benefits are minimal – if they exist at all. According to the World Health Organization, cavity rates of children in developed nations with fluoridation are the same as those in developed nations without fluoridation.

Given the fact that the FDA considers fluoride a drug, it’s especially important to end the unhealthy practice of fluoridation. If people want to use fluoride, they are free to do so via toothpaste, mouthwash and other products, but they certainly shouldn’t be forced to ingest a drug simply from drinking water.

Where there’s risk, there must be choice.

Please also consider taking one more step: call committee members to respectfully urge their support of HB 2396.