Dear President Mbeki

NB. An edited version of this letter was published in 'Business Day' on 3rd July, 2002.

I realise that you are a very busy person, so I shall be brief and to the point.

It is good to see that a vigorous debate is taking place on the subject of water fluoridation. This is in contrast to those (mostly) English-speaking countries whose Governments have been avoiding open debate for many decades.

My website is http://www.fluoride.org.uk. It has a rich source of information which I think you will find most useful. In addition to the large amount of information on my website, I have nearly 11 years knowledge and experience on the subject of fluorides and water fluoridation.

In a nutshell, my experiences have led me to think that there is a conspiracy to poison water supplies with synthetic fluorides. It is only the reason which remains in question. It is therefore even more important to seriously consider both sides of the argument before coming to a decision on whether or not to fluoridate water supplies in South Africa.

My own mind is made up. The implementation of water fluoridation would be a serious and retrograde step for the South African Government and it's people. It is also fairly well established that those who are allegedly supposed to gain the most from a scientifically unproven practice who would be most vulnerable - the deprived and under-nourished.

I cannot say any more than this with the exception that my speciality lies in dental health statistics. My database on the dental health of English children is, I think, the most comprehensive in existence. As a consequence, when my study of the dental health of English children is completed later this year, it will have taken into consideration data from as far back as 1984. And in some circumstances, it will incorporate official statistics from around 11 to 12 million children annually.

There are certainly early indications that where fluoridation has been implemented, that the practice has been underpinned by numerous measures which will have had a profound impact on dental health. But it appears that this is the modus operandi of the supporters of water fluoridation. Implement water fluoridation and then employ other measures which improve dental health. The result is improved dental health which is then fraudulently attributed to the introduction of water fluoridation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail.

Yours sincerely

Chris Holdcroft, Proprietor / Webmaster, http://www.fluoride.org.uk

PS. Please also visit http://www.fluoride.org.za