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The debate around whether fluoride should be added to tap water is not new.

The practice, which is aimed at reducing tooth decay, has been ongoing for 60 years.

But since fluoride toothpaste became more widely available around the 1970s, more questions have been raised about whether adding it to the drinking supply is still necessary.

And with Donald Trump’s health secretary pick Robert F Kennedy Jr saying he would ban it, the issue has entered public debate yet again.

Despite RFK being well known for his outlandish views on public health, it seems the fluoridation issue isn’t one that can be totally dismissed.

One study in the US has linked fluoride to a lowering of children’s IQs, while another in the UK has questioned its overall effectiveness when added to water.

So what is fluoride, what do experts say – and what’s the story in the UK?

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What is fluoride and what does it do?

It’s a natural mineral found in rocks, which leaches into soil, rivers and lakes.

It helps dental health by strengthening the tooth enamel, making it more resistant to tooth decay, and also reduces the amount of acid the bacteria on your teeth produce, according to the Oral Health Foundation.

Fluoride is known to be particularly beneficial for children’s teeth, as past studies have suggested ingesting it during the period of tooth development makes the enamel more resistant to later acid attacks and subsequent development of tooth decay.

Dr Kunal Patel, who has been a private and NHS dentist for 15 years, told Sky News the benefit of fluoride is “drilled into” dental students, adding there are “scientifically proven benefits of having fluoride within your oral hygiene regime”.

Fluoride is essentially a passive way of protecting your teeth, he says.

“If you decide not to use fluoride then the technique of brushing your teeth, your flossing and other methods of cleaning have to be that much better,” he adds.

How do we get fluoride?

Almost all water contains some naturally occurring fluoride, but it’s normally not enough to prevent tooth decay.

Some areas do have water supplies where the amount of fluoride is naturally at a high level – a point that will be covered later.

We get trace amounts of fluoride from much of our food and drink, but brewed tea in particular proves a big source because tea plants take up fluoride from soil.

Most toothpastes now contain fluoride to give you extra protection from decay.

When did adding it to the water supply become a thing?

Many oral health experts believe adding fluoride to water – an act known as fluoridation – is the most effective way to widely reduce dental problems, particularly in underprivileged regions.

The practice began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after scientists noticed that people had less tooth decay in areas with naturally higher fluoride levels in the tap water.

It was first added to the water supply in England in 1964, when a pilot scheme was launched in Birmingham.

Over the years it’s been rolled out to about 75% of America’s population, compared to about 10% of England.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates some 400 million people in 25 countries are getting artificially fluoridated water, while about 50 million have naturally occurring fluoride at the same level as the artificial schemes.

What is the ideal amount of fluoride in water?

The WHO recommends a maximum level of 1.5mg per litre.

In its guidelines, it says the level is aimed at creating a middle ground where tooth decay is minimised, but the risk of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis is too.

Dental fluorosis is a common cosmetic condition caused by ingesting too much fluoride during tooth development, and can leave white flecks, spots or lines on teeth.

Skeletal fluorosis, a much rarer occurrence, is a chronic metabolic bone and joint disease caused by ingesting large amounts of fluoride.

The UK government aims for fluoride levels of 1mg per litre in drinking water, while the level of fluoride is kept at about 0.7mg per litre in the US.

Potential danger to children’s IQs

Fluoridation has been a contentious subject in the US, with more than 100 lawsuits over the years trying to get rid of it without success, according to the American Fluoridation Society, an advocacy group.

And the anti-fluoride group Fluoride Action Network says more than 150 towns and counties across the US have voted to keep fluoride out of public water systems or to stop adding it.

But the movement against it really gained momentum earlier this year when a US government report concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit was linked with lower IQ in children.

The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, said it reached its conclusion “with moderate confidence”.

It cited a 2019 study, published in the well-respected journal JAMA Pediatrics, which found that IQ levels were slightly lower in three and four-year-old children whose mothers had higher measures of fluoride in their urine when they were pregnant.

A federal judge in California used the report to order the nation’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen its regulations on fluoridation in September, saying the current levels were posing an unreasonable risk to children.

The judge stressed that he was not concluding with certainty that fluoridated water endangered public health, but rather that it poses a risk.

Questions over fluoride’s effectiveness

In the UK, while the government is reviewing plans to raise fluoride levels for millions and roll it out into more areas of England, a major review has suggested fluoridation may only have a “modest” benefit.

Academics at Manchester, Dundee and Aberdeen universities compared 157 studies looking at the effect of fluoridation on the dental health of communities.

When the government began adding fluoride to tap water, it reduced the number of decayed, missing or filled teeth by two whole teeth on average among children with their baby teeth, researchers said.

However, once fluoride toothpaste became widely available, that number declined.

Now, it is equivalent to a reduction of a “quarter of a tooth” that is decayed, missing or filled, on average.

“Water fluoridation is only having a modest benefit on dental caries, and those benefits may take years to be realised,” said Professor Anne-Marie Glenny, of the University of Manchester, who co-authored the paper.

Could it actually be scrapped in the US?

Mr Kennedy Jr has claimed Mr Trump will push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office, referring to it as “industrial waste” in a statement on X.

He also claimed fluoride was associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.

While there have been studies regarding some of those claims, none of them have been conclusive.

After the comments, Mr Trump told Sky News’ US partner NBC News that while he had not spoken to his health secretary pick about trying to scrap fluoride yet, “it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible”.

The decision on whether or not add fluoride to water is ultimately made by state and local health authorities, so Mr Trump’s government can only advise them to stop it.

‘It’s about risk vs benefit’

Stephen Peckham, professor of health policy at the University of Kent, previously led a study on fluoridation’s potential links to hypothyroidism – an underactive thyroid – and is now part of a research team investigating whether it could be causing IQ issues within the UK’s population.

He tells Sky News he accepts fluoride can be beneficial, but adds it is not a necessity, especially in water.

“We know that ingested fluoride is not an effective way of preventing tooth decay,” he says. “If you want to have fluoride, put it on your toothbrush and clean your teeth with it. It needs to be applied to the tooth and not swallowed.”

He says that while the benefit is limited, the children’s IQ study carried out in the US highlights a need for caution.

“What we do know is that ingesting fluoride does have a neurologic, neurotoxic effect. What’s less certain is at what level of fluoride that begins.

“The judge is saying, well, in that case, shouldn’t we be more careful? And limit in particular pregnant women’s access to fluoridated water or consumption of fluoridated water.

“And your maximum of fluoride depends on how much you drink. So if you drink more, you get more.”

It’s about the “balance of risk and benefit”, he says.

“But if there’s not much benefit, should you have any risk? The answer is no, you shouldn’t.”

‘Stick to the most deprived regions’

Dr Kunal Patel, who owns six private dental clinics in Surrey, including one for children only, says fluoridation was “great in a time where there was less education and less access to fluoride in toothpaste”.

He adds that before the IQ study came out, he would have been happy to see fluoride being added to any area in the UK because he’d have thought “anyone could benefit” without there being any negative effects.

Now, he says, he thinks it’s best to be “selective” and limit fluoridating water “to the areas that are suffering, where it’s more rural or more deprived”.

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He gives the North West as an example, saying he recently did a charity event there to promote dental health among young people, and it was “shocking” to see how many of them did not even own a toothbrush.

He says it’s a “good idea” to expand to similar areas of the UK where dental health is low – but thinks it would be an even better idea to provide toothpaste to schools in such areas and increase their education regarding how best to look after their teeth.

“I think education is the way forward more so than fluoridated water.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told Sky News: “The number one reason children aged six to 10 end up in hospital is to have their rotting teeth pulled out.

“Water fluoridation at levels permitted in this country is a safe and effective public health measure that reduces tooth decay.

“Prevention is always better than cure, and this government is committed to helping people stay healthy and keeping kids out of hospital.”

Is your water being fluoridated?

About 330,000 people live in areas of England with naturally occurring fluoride in drinking water, while around 5.8 million people get an artificial supply put in theirs.

It means some 10% of people in England live in areas where fluoride is added to the water, mainly in the West Midlands and the North East.

There is no fluoridation in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Here is the full list of areas receiving artificial fluoridation in England, according to the British Fluoridation Society:

  • Cumbria – 120,000
  • Cheshire – 137,000
  • Tyneside – 643,000
  • Northumbria – 101,000
  • County Durham – 85,000
  • Humberside – 136,000
  • Lincolnshire – 250,000
  • Nottinghamshire – 287,000
  • Derbyshire – 43,000
  • Birmingham – 1,000,000
  • Solihull – 200,000
  • Coventry – 300,000
  • Sandwell – 300,000
  • Dudley – 305,000
  • Walsall – 253,000
  • Wolverhampton – 236,000
  • Staffordshire – 497,000
  • Shropshire – 22,000
  • Warwickshire – 431,000
  • Worcestershire – 253,000
  • Bedfordshire – 198,000

And here is the list of areas getting the “optimal” amount of fluoride naturally:

  • Hartlepool, County Durham – 89,000
  • Easington, County Durham – 47,000
  • Uttoxeter, Staffordshire – 13,000
  • Redbridge, London Borough – 180,000

Where else could fluoride be added to water?

The Conservative government introduced proposals to expand fluoridation schemes across the North East “because of the significant and long-standing inequalities in the region” when it comes to dental health.

A public consultation on the plans was launched in June and closed in July. Since Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government won the election, it has not been clear whether the plans are still being pursued.

These are the areas the government proposed extending the fluoride supply to:

  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newcastle
  • Northumberland
  • North Tyneside
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • South Tyneside
  • Stockton
  • Sunderland

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Inside the cannabis farms being set up in rented homes

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Inside the cannabis farms being set up in rented homes

Organised criminal gangs are increasingly using rented houses and flats to operate illegal cannabis farms – and police say it is putting the lives of innocent neighbours at risk.

The gangs often use crude methods to bypass electricity meters to avoid paying for the high levels of energy the farms require, creating an increased fire risk.

Rival gangs also carry out raids on each other’s farms – a practice known as ‘taxing’ – carrying out “significant violence” to anyone who gets in their way, police say.

Greater Manchester Police detected 402 cannabis farms between May 2024 and April 2025, and Sky News was given access to an operation by its officers at a semi-detached house in a quiet suburban street in Wythenshawe.

Inside, officers found one room full of cannabis plants and another ‘drying room’ with the drug packaged up and ready to be distributed. The street value was estimated in the tens of thousands of pounds.

Cannabis farm
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This home on a quiet street was filled with cannabis plants

Cannabis farm Milam package

Outside, officers found evidence that the electricity meter had been bypassed. ‘Abstracting’ is the offence of dishonestly using, wasting or diverting electricity. One person inside the property was arrested.

“The electricity gets bypassed in order to avoid big electric bills,” Inspector Bree Lanyon said.

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“Because a substantial amount of electric is required to run the lights, the ventilation, the heat, everything else that’s required in the cannabis farm, the abstract is done in a haphazard way and it can cause fires within the properties.”

Cannabis
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Officers found bags of the drug ready to be distributed

She continued: “We’ve seen a lot of fires recently in premises that have been set up as cannabis farms, because of the way the electricity is set up. It’s not safe and the neighbouring residence could be at risk if that property is burning down.”

The risks posed by cannabis farms were highlighted by the death of seven-year-old Archie York in 2024. He was killed when chemicals being used in a cannabis factory caused an explosion in the family’s block of flats. The drug dealer responsible was jailed for 14 years.

Archie York still from Greg Milam package
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Archie York

Archie York aftermath
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The aftermath of the explosion which killed the seven-year-old

Police say gangs employ low-level operatives, known as gardeners, to manage and protect farms, who will often plead guilty to drug offences and accept the punishment to keep police off the trail of those controlling the operation.

The use of rented properties – sometimes through rogue landlords – also makes detection more difficult.

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“The vast majority are organised crime gangs,” said Detective Inspector Paul Crompton, from GMP’s serious and organised crime group. “It infuriates me when we take action against these farms and people say ‘It’s only cannabis’.

“What we see with cannabis farms is that rival organised crime groups will actively target those and break in and take the products by force. You’ve got a risk of potentially people being kidnapped or killed without us knowing anything about them.

“Make no bones about it, there’s massive amounts of money to make and they would rather just go and take that cannabis and sell it for themselves. They’ll do significant, violence against anybody that gets in the way, whether that’s the gardener, the police or residents who might get in the way.”

 Cannabis farms Milam
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Police check an electricity meter for evidence of ‘abstracting’

Police say landlords need to be aware of the risks and even the chief executive of the British Landlords Association has fallen victim.

One of Sajjar Ahmad’s properties was badly damaged by those using it for an illegal cannabis farm. “I can only explain it as horrific,” he said.

“Our members, when they’ve experienced the problem with the cannabis farm, they are shocked. They didn’t know it could happen. They are not aware of the telltale signs.

“They have the same regrets as what I experienced – you need to carry out regular inspections and, if somebody is offering you a larger rent, then you should question that.”

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Personal trainer jailed over ‘first date’ chase that ended in crash involving five police cars

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Personal trainer jailed over 'first date' chase that ended in crash involving five police cars

A personal trainer who admitted dangerous driving on a first date that ended in a police car pile-up has been sentenced to one year and two months in a young offenders’ institution.

Mazyar Azarbonyad, 20, was taking a woman home in the early hours of 9 April when his driving triggered a car chase and eventual crash involving five police cars.

Mazyar Azarbonyad. Pic: Northumbria Police
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Mazyar Azarbonyad. Pic: Northumbria Police

Seven officers ended up in hospital, and one of their cars had its roof torn off in the dramatic collision that left debris strewn across the A1 near Newcastle.

Northumbria Police said while three officers have been able to return to duty, four remain off work.

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Pic: PA

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Pic: PA

At Newcastle Crown Court in April, Azarbonyad admitted a series of driving offences, including driving without insurance several times after the crash, and failing to stop.

Northumbria Police said officers attempted to stop his powerful BMW in the Whickham area of Gateshead due to its speed and defective headlight.

After being instructed to pull over, Azarbonyad initially stopped before fleeing as the officer approached his vehicle.

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The scene on the A1, which has been shut in both directions on Tyneside.
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Pic: PA

The scene on the A1, which has been shut in both directions on Tyneside.
Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

The car was later spotted on Whickham Front Street where it again made off from police and drove at excessive speeds through residential streets.

Specialist officers from the force’s road policing unit were sent to the area, and at 2.25am got behind the car where it reached speeds in excess of 120mph.

Just two minutes later the collision occurred near the Denton Interchange exit in Newcastle.

Azarbonyad and his female passenger were both uninjured.

The woman, aged in her 20s, was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting dangerous driving but was later told she would face no further action. She later received a caution for drug possession.

Mazyar Azarbonyad arrives at Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing over a multiple vehicle crash which injured seven police officers followin
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Azarbonyad arriving at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday. Pic: PA

Azarbonyad was arrested at the scene and later released on bail with strict conditions including an interim driving ban.

Days later, officers received information that he was driving a red Hyundai i10 from his County Durham home to work in Newcastle city centre.

He was arrested on a garage forecourt in Stanley on 16 April after being caught filling up the vehicle.

Appearing before magistrates the following day, he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, two counts of failing to stop a motor vehicle when required by a constable, six counts of no insurance use, and six counts of driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Mazyar Azarbonyad.
Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Defending, solicitor Jack Lovell had told the court the defendant, of Stanley, had shown genuine remorse for his actions.

Returning to Newcastle Crown Court on Monday, Azarbonyad was sentenced to one year and two months in a young offenders’ institution.

He was also disqualified from driving for three years and seven months. If Azarbonyad wishes to get behind the wheel again, he must also sit an extended re-test.

Five-vehicle crash involving police vehicles shuts down A1
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Pic: PA

Following the court case, Superintendent Billy Mulligan said: “It is sheer luck that Mazyar Azarbonyad did not kill anyone that day with his reckless actions.

“What should have been a simple stop turned into him driving incredibly dangerously in a bid to get away from officers.

“He showed absolutely zero regard for the safety of anyone else that morning, and his decision-making behind the wheel put lives at risk.”

Superintendent Mulligan praised the bravery of the officers involved in the pursuit and subsequent collision.

He added: “While three officers have been able to return to duty, four of our colleagues remain off work – and I wish them all the best in their recovery.

“They were simply doing their job, protecting the public from the actions of someone who was not even qualified or insured to drive.

“We have a zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour, and we are committed to bringing offenders to justice and ensuring our roads are as safe as possible.”

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Man convicted after burning Koran outside Turkish consulate in London

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Man convicted after burning Koran outside Turkish consulate in London

A man has been found guilty of an offence after burning a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London, in a case that sparked debate over the freedom of expression.

Hamit Coskun was accused of shouting “f*** Islam” and “Islam is religion of terrorism” as he held up a burning copy of the holy Islamic text in Knightsbridge, London, in February.

He was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence.

Delivering the verdict, district judge McGarva said: “Your actions in burning the Koran where you did were highly provocative, and your actions were accompanied by bad language in some cases directed toward the religion and were motivated at least in part by hatred of followers of the religion.”

The 50-year-old denied using disorderly behaviour “within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress”, motivated by “hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam”, contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Public Order Act 1986.

He had also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of using disorderly behaviour “within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress”, contrary to section five of the Public Order Act 1986.

The charges were alternative, meaning only one or the other would apply, but not both.

Prosecutors said Coskun had written on social media he was protesting the “Islamist government” of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had “made Turkey a base for radical Islamists and is trying to establish a Sharia regime”.

Mr Erdogan, who has been in power for over 20 years, leads the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which, while created from former Islamist movements and having a strong religious base, describes itself as a conservative-democratic party and has strongly denied being Islamist.

Barrister Katy Thorne KC, defending, last week argued the prosecution was effectively trying to revive blasphemy laws, which were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2021.

Coskun, who has both Kurdish and Armenian heritage but was born in Turkey, travelled from his home in the Midlands and set fire to the Koran on the afternoon of 13 February, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard last week.

Footage aired in court showed another man confronting Coskun, allegedly holding a knife and saying: “It’s my religion, you don’t burn the Koran.”

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