THE views of Bolton residents on the issue of adding fluoride to the town’s water supply are to be sent to Whitehall.

MP David Crausby is asking his constituents to put forward their opinions on the issue.

Every household in his Bolton North-east constituency will this month receive a copy of Mr Crausby’s Parliamentary Report which includes an article about fluoridation.

It gives everyone the opportunity to have their say.

Mr Crausby is a Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Fluoridation and has been campaigning for a local referendum on the issue since his election in 1997. He said: “I would encourage everyone who has a view on the issue of fluoridation of our drinking water to complete and return the Freepost slip to me.

“I’ll be contacting the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, with the responses I get. Bolton Council has said that fluoride should not be added to our water without consultation with the people of Bolton and I’ll be letting the leader of Bolton Council know the results of my survey.”

Mr Crausby also expressed concerns over the cost of fluoridation.

In February, Mr Johnson announced government plans to pump £42 million into areas which want to add fluoride to water supplies in a bid to improve dental health.

It reignited debate in Bolton over the issue, which splits the town.

Some say fluoridation would help improve Bolton’s terrible record on dental health. But others argue it would be “mass medication” and have raised fears of a link between fluoride and cancer or bone problems.

Because of the costs and logistics of a public vote, Bolton Council agreed a referendum would only take place if the North West Strategic Health Authority carried out a public consultation exercise.

Regional health chiefs are waiting for their fluoridation evaluation group to report on the matter before deciding whether to a begin public consultation.

Formal consultation would be triggered if any of the region’s primary care trusts, which fund GPs and dental care, demand it after receiving the evaluation report.

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