How fluoride became an unexpected election issue

Pollsters say these voters are generally anti-establishment and hold more unconventional views on health than the majority of people.

Mr Kennedy is a prominent critic of vaccinations and has claimed that vaccinations can cause autism in children.

Last week he said fluoride is “an industrial waste linked to arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.”

A Trump-led White House would advise U.S. water systems to remove the chemical on Jan. 20, 2025 – Inauguration Day, he added.

The practice of adding small doses of fluoride to American water began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 1962, the U.S. Public Health Service recommended adding small amounts to drinking water to strengthen teeth.

According to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 210 million people rely on fluoridated water systems.

The American Dental Association said the move reduced tooth decay by at least 25 percent.

But like mass vaccinations, water fluoridation has long been the subject of health concerns and conspiracy theories.

These claims were not always unfounded.

Lower IQ

A U.S. government report released earlier this year suggested that consuming twice the recommended amount of fluoride was linked to lower intelligence quotients in children.

In the past, fluoridation has been linked to health conditions such as fluorosis – a buildup of the product in teeth and bones – as well as bone cancer, impaired brain development and Down syndrome.

The American practice of adding fluoride to drinking water is far more extensive than that of many Western allies, such as the United Kingdom, where only 10 percent of Britons include the mineral in their water supply.

Many European countries have also decided against artificially increasing fluoride levels in water supplies or have phased them out.

A 2003 study of 16 European countries found that “the vast majority of people opposed water fluoridation.”

Mr Kennedy's concerns about fluoride in water dovetail with a growing sense in America that its citizens are consuming too many additives – and this is not the only one of his policies that the Trump campaign appears open to.

In recent years, there has been something of an anti-establishment backlash against products like processed foods and drinks, vaccines, and heavily chemical-laden toiletries and cleaning products.

Mr. Kennedy has said he wants to ban pesticides, seed oils and food additives.

JD Vance, Trump's vice presidential nominee, appeared to share some of these concerns when he discussed the benefits of cutting out processed foods like vegan meat substitutes during his recent appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast.