SIR - The agonies suffered by Lanr Fehintola in his attempts to "cold turkey" from heroin addiction (T&A, May 21) are avoidable. There is a fast, virtually painless way out from the prison of addiction - a closely-guarded secret that Bradford Community Health Council is trying to make public.

"Accelerated detox", as it is known, is a tried and tested technique and is available for those with money as close as Harrogate.

The private Detox 5 facility there reported that of 504 patients they treated, 71 per cent were clean three months later, 61 per cent clean at six months, and 51 per cent clean at 12 months. A fast response team from Bradford South & West Primary Care Trust has been treating some patients in their homes with this technique, with equally excellent results.

Medical staff at Bradford Royal Infirmary have produced outline plans for a special unit to help rid our city of this dreadful disease, yet the powers-that-be are dragging their feet instead of welcoming the initiative with open arms.

Meanwhile Bradford social services, which has funds to send patients to detox and rehab outside the city, should pay for people like Lanr to have treatment in Harrogate.

Karl Dallas, chairman, Bradford Community Health Council.

SIR - Mrs Heath (T&A, May 18) missed the point of my letter. Nowhere did I mention birth control. I merely pointed out to the previous correspondent that he was wrong about population trends. The problems Mrs Heath mentioned can and should be solved by political methods. (Whether they will is up to us, the voters).

The logic of her argument leads us to the conclusion that the best way to avoid pollution etc. is to have no people at all.

I repeat my basic observation: we have a declining birth rate, the lowest for 30 or 40 years. Who will supply the work, especially skilled work, which we will be increasingly short of in coming decades?

Will we have to invite more people from abroad?

Michael Murphy, Halifax Road, Keighley.

SIR - On one day recently, at least two large local companies - Pace and Halifax - announced closures or relocations because bigger profits can be made elsewhere.

Firms are feted by civic leaders, but such decisions lack all sense of social responsibility. No-one except a few "extremists" challenge this system which strikes cruelly at the heart of secure, civilised life. No political party at this election can bring itself to question what to many younger and not-so-young people is a wholly untenable system.

So why bother to vote? Count me out!

Why is it that a system that destroys livelihoods and communities and brings with it insecurity, disease, stress, injury and environmental breakdown can still get support - albeit half-hearted - from the electorate? Few can survive it without tranquillisers, anti-depressants, drugs, alcohol or the mind-numbing distraction of television or other escapes into industrialised "leisure".

The present system of industrialised farming that brought us poultry salmonella, fish-farming diseases, BSE and other disasters will surely be replaced by other industrialised treadmills equally damaging while safe technologies such as permaculture, organics and community large-scale allotments remain untried.

Graham Carey, Granville Terrace, Bingley.

SIR - On behalf of a Mr Robert Hogarth, I am trying to trace a former comrade who served with him in the 591 Signals. His name is Frederick Giles, born and bred in Yorkshire and last heard of living in Brighouse in the late 1950s. He was a Wireless Operator at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire, and would now be in his 60s.

If he or anyone who knows of him reads this, could they please contact me on 01407 761463 or write in confidence to the address below.

Mrs G Whitley, 88 Tan-Yr-Efail, Holyhead, Anglesey LL65 2SD.

SIR - Just to let you know that the item recently published in your newspaper about my appeal for information about a relative has brought spectacular results.

I got replies from a close friend of the late James Douglas Smales which contained a recent photo plus correspondence from unknown relatives which have proved to be very fruitful.

I would like to express my thanks to your newspaper for your efforts. I estimate it has saved me many years of research and correspondence to get to where I am now. Very much appreciated.

Ken Smales, Melbourne, Australia.