Utah becomes first state to ban fluoride in drinking water

Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warn the move will lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities.Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water systems.Florida, Ohio and South Carolina are considering similar measures, while in New Hampshire, North Dakota and Tennessee, lawmakers have rejected them. A bill in Kentucky to make fluoridation optional stalled in the state Senate.Portland is to date the largest city not to fluoridate its drinking water. The city’s voters most recently rejected a measure to add fluoride in 2013. Voters in nearby Hillsboro rejected fluoridation in an advisory vote last November, and the Oregon city of Lebanon voted to remove fluoride that month.The American Dental Association sharply criticized the Utah law, saying i...