Australian Letter Tells it Straight

Added sugar the real enemy
FOLLOWING on from excellent articles on fluoridation by M. Edgar (The Border Mail, September 9) and B. Ryan (September 14) the question I pose is: What is the use of putting fluoride into our water system to assist in dental health when food companies are lacing pre-packaged food with sugar, everything from our breakfast cereals to frozen meals and tinned food, and, most alarming, soft drinks?
Most children nowadays prefer the fridge to the tap over the sink to quench a thirst, ask any mother.
We are eating bucket loads of hidden sugar in our food each week, this leads to obesity, diabetes and childhood obesity and, of course, tooth decay.
If governments were serious about dental health they would do something about the amount of sugar in pre-packaged foods and drinks instead of putting fluoride in our water. However, I believe that fluoridation has more to do with multi-national drug companies profit margins than dental hygiene.
Household budgets are stretched to their limits and beyond, a further added cost to their water bill is something they can do without.
KEVIN T. COOPER,