Our History

The Fluoride Action Network (FAN) was founded in 2000 by an international coalition of scientists, doctors, dentists, environmental health researchers, and concerned citizens to raise awareness about the toxicity of fluoride compounds. Our Team.

FAN’s story began several years prior to its founding, in 1996, when Paul Connett, Ph.D. , a professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University, was leading campaigns along with his wife Ellen on a variety of environmental issues, including against waste incineration, human radiation experiments and worker exposures, and dioxins. Ellen persuaded Paul to investigate the controversial practice of water fluoridation. At first, he was skeptical that it should be a concern, but after extensively reviewing the science, it became evident that the practice posed an unreasonable risk to human health and violated basic medical ethics.

Later that year, Paul and Ellen met the one of the founders of the American Environmental Health Studies Project (AEHSP), Cliff Honicker, at a forum on fluoridation. Jacqueline Kittrell, a public-interest attorney, and Clifford T. Honicker, an investigative researcher, co-founded AEHSP. The nonprofit grew directly out of Cliff and Jackie's work under the Radiation Research Project, an unincorporated project of the Institute for Southern Studies. Their goal was to demystify nuclear policy documents concerned with health and safety and make the information accessible for those most directly affected by the policy ---the workers and community around the dozens of nuclear weapons plants across our country.

The Connetts and Honicker worked together on the issues of waste incineration, fluoridation, and other toxic issues (particularly the impact of nickel smelting on workers and nearby residents). 

In 2000, the Connetts were among the founders of FAN and directed the organization together for 22 years, until June of 2022. Learn about the Connett’s lifelong commitment to scientific integrity and protection of the vulnerable. 

In 2003, Paul was invited to present to a panel appointed by the US National Research Council, which published a landmark review of fluoride’s toxicity in 2006.

In 2004, the board of directors of the AEHSP approved the incorporation of FAN as one of AEHSP’s official projects. AEHSP has been a registered 501(c)3 non-profit in good standing since its founding in 1996.

FAN’s work in educating the public on the toxicity of fluoride compounds, proved a major contribution to AEHSP’s mission on empowering citizens and educating decision makers on issues that have the potential to harm human health or the environment.

In 2010, with two other authors, James Beck, MD, PhD and Spedding Micklem, DPhil (Oxon), Connett published The Case Against Fluoride (Chelsea Green 2010). 

While accepting the philosophical argument that fluoridation is an unethical practice, throughout its 24-year history FAN has not dealt in conspiracy.  Instead, FAN has focused entirely on examining and analyzing the scientific literature. FAN has found and documented plenty of evidence that fluoridation is neither safe nor effective.

Since its formation FAN has accomplished a lot, including helping hundreds of communities end fluoridation, producing and archiving a wealth of educational materials and analysis on fluoride science, pushing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase out sulfurly fluoride, exposing the promotors of fluoridation and government agencies for their lack of scientific integrity, getting the National Toxicology Program to review fluoride’s neurotoxicity, and suing the EPA in federal court to end the use of fluoridation chemicals …and much more.