From Philip Ward, University of Sheffield
I was amazed at the suggestion that salt should be added to bottled water in
order to prevent “water intoxication” and two deaths per year as a result of using ecstasy
(25 November, p 11). It has been estimated that in Britain today,
mean salt intakes are more than twice the recommended level. Simply not adding
salt during cooking, even though not enough to bring intakes down to the
preferred level of about 5 grams a day, would still lower the incidence of
strokes and heart disease by 26 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
I agree that ecstasy users should be protected from “water intoxication”, but
not at the expense of others in the community. If the drug were produced and
sold under controlled (legal) conditions, it would be possible to add salt
during manufacture. Moreover I think that the rest of us should be protected
from stroke and heart disease through control of the salt content in
ready-cooked meals, bread and breakfast cereals, which are the main products
damaging our health.
