SIR - Your otherwise excellent article included two of Scientology's many lies [A church for celebrities, but what about me?, 23 March 2001].

First, there are nowhere near 8,000,000 Scientologists; the most generous estimates put the worldwide total at 100,000 - 250,000. A former Scientology PR official has publicly admitted making up the grossly inflated figure.

Also, their program for "remov[ing] toxins and drugs from your body" is, in fact, a potentially dangerous treatment involving overlong periods in a sauna combined with toxic doses of niacin.

Kristi Wachter, San Francisco