Colgate to change toothpaste packaging to address Texas AG fluoride concerns

Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N) will introduce new packaging and marketing for its toothpaste products, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed concern that its marketing of fluoride could harm parents and children.

Paxton said on Monday that beginning on November 1, Colgate will depict “safe, age-appropriate amounts of toothpaste” for children under six for its Colgate, Tom’s of Maine and hello brands of toothpaste, consistent with the labels’ instructions.

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These depictions will include “pea-sized” amounts of toothpaste, rather than larger amounts or swirls, when Colgate uses an image of toothpaste atop a toothbrush, Paxton said.

The changes will appear online first, and on store shelves later, Paxton said.

In May, Paxton issued civil investigative demands to Colgate and Procter & Gamble (PG.N), which makes Crest, claiming that their marketing causes parents to give children unhealthy doses of fluoride. The Procter & Gamble case remains open.

Paxton, a Republican, said Colgate’s agreement advances his work to Make America Healthy Again, a movement associated with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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While the movement draws support from opponents of too much regulation as well as people concerned about disease and other threats, critics say some elements could roll back healthcare advances built over decades.

Colgate, based in New York, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Procter & Gamble did not immediately respond to similar requests. Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and helps prevent cavities, and the American Dental Association supports fluoridation of toothpaste and drinking water.

A study published in January in the journal JAMA Pediatrics linked higher fluoride exposures in children to lower IQ scores. The research, however, was criticized in an accompanying editorialby a professor of preventive and community dentistry at the University of Iowa, who outlined flaws in its analysis and warned against changing public policy concerning fluoride based on its findings.

Kennedy opposes adding fluoride to public water systems, and without conclusive evidence has linked current U.S. fluoridation levels to health problems including cancer.

Paxton is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026, and trying to unseat Republican incumbent John Cornyn.

Original article online at: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/colgate-change-toothpaste-packaging-address-texas-ag-fluoride-concerns-2025-09-15/