STATEMENT FROM TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER SID MILLER ON ATTORNEY GENERAL PAXTON’S INVESTIGATION INTO CHILDREN’S TOOTHPASTE MANUFACTURERS (5/8/2025)

“Making America Healthy Again isn’t just about the food we put on our plates. It’s about everything we allow into our bodies, especially those of our children. As stewards of the next generation, we have a duty to be vigilant about the substances to which we are exposed and the marketing tactics that target our youth. I fully support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his efforts to hold toothpaste manufacturers accountable, if necessary, for any wrongdoing that may have caused real harm due to misleading marketing targeted at children. 

Last fall, I stood proudly with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in support of his plan to Make America Healthy Again. For too long, Americans have been bombarded by a potentially toxic cocktail of artificial chemicals in our food, medicine, and personal care products. The pursuit of cost-cutting and convenience in production has often come at the expense of our health and, more critically, our children’s health. 

Ken Paxton isn’t attacking toothpaste. He’s asking a vital question about whether the marketing tactics of major toothpaste brands encourage unsafe fluoride use among children. With a growing body of evidence, including a recent National Toxicology Program study linking excessive fluoride exposure to lower IQ in kids, we have a responsibility to take this issue seriously and protect our little ones.

If Attorney General Ken Paxton’s investigation reveals that deceptive marketing has led to harmful overexposure to fluoride in our children, it’s no different from the petroleum-based dyes and additives we’ve fought to eliminate from our food and medicine. It’s time we start asking the tough questions.”