Date: March 26, 2007 (Monday)
Time: 12:30 – 14:00 (sandwich lunch from 12:30 –12:45; seminar begins at 12:45)
Venue: Mrs Chen Yang Foo Oi Telemedicine Centre, 2/F, William MW Mong Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Abstract:
Water fluoridation is promoted by the World Health Organisation and many other professional and public health bodies. Worldwide, over 300 million people receive water containing fluoride to around 1 mg/l. In Hong Kong, water fluoridation was introduced in 1961. However, adding fluoride to water supplies remains a highly controversial matter. Debates in this subject have been polarised, where evidence is often harnessed inappropriately to promote viewpoints and uncertainties are often glossed over. Is water fluoridation one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th Century, as the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention claimed? Or is it an inappropriate intervention that disregards individuals' autonomy and important public health principles?

In this seminar, the speaker will discuss: the benefits of fluoridation, the difficulties in identifying harmful effects, whether fluoride is a medicine, the ethics of a mass intervention, and the role of fluoridation in reducing inequalities. These issues should provide professionals and the public with a framework for engaging constructively in future debates on the subject.

Bio-sketch:
KK Cheng is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Birmingham. He qualified in medicine at The University of Hong Kong. He received postgraduate training in public health and general practice in Hong Kong, after which he did a PhD in cancer epidemiology at University of Cambridge. His interests are in chronic disease epidemiology and prevention. He currently holds an Honorary Chair in Community Medicine at HKU.

The fact that he has lived in Hong Kong and Birmingham (where water is fluoridated) is about the only 'track record' he has on fluoridation related matters. He feels that it is not necessarily a bad attribute as far as this controversial subject is concerned.

Registration:
For registration and enquiries, please call Ms Maggie Cheuk at 2819-2841 or email mhrn@hkusua.hku.hk