I WAS horrified to read (LET, December 23) that Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust Board have voted in favour of adding fluoride to our water supplies.

Fluoride is a toxic and corrosive industrial waste product from the aluminium and fertiliser industries. It is a cumulative poison known to have serious health risks including genetic disorders, premature ageing, and, most worryingly, as an intellect suppressant making people docile and easily led.

This practice of mass medication started in America in the 1940s where 60 per cent of water supplies are now affected. It is banned or is being discontinued in most European countries, but here it is being enthusiastically embraced by Tony Blair and New Labour who would no doubt love a population that doesn't think, question or rebel.

This issue is not about children's teeth. Surely education, diet and better standards of loving could most help our dental and general health. This is about making us pay to have hazardous waste products pumped into our bodies and down our drains, damaging human, plant and aquatic life.

If through freedom of choice, fluoridation is insisted upon, then it can be taken in tablet form and through toothpaste. But please don't let any infant under three drink it as the effects can be devastating.

IAN DIXON, Sandy Lane, Accrington.