NJ Senate committee passes water fluoridation bill

A New Jersey Senate committee has passed a bill that would add fluoride to the state's public water supply, according to a story on nj.com.

The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee voted 6-0 (with three abstentions) in favor of the New Jersey Public Water Supply Fluoridation Act, which would require public and private water utilities to start adding fluoride within a year of the law's enactment.

Even so, the prospects of the bill becoming law are in doubt, according to nj.com. The Assembly Appropriations Committee reportedly will not hold a hearing on the bill, which has stalled since the Assembly Health Committee approved it in February.

Jim Schulz of the New Jersey Dental Association chastised the state for ranking 49th in the U.S. in fluoridating its public water supply, according to the news story.

But Dave Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said he would rather let municipalities continue to decide whether to fluoridate the drinking water supply, as opposed to denying the public "informed consent" about ingesting what can be a harmful additive if the dose is too high.

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