Reducing Salt Intake Would Save Millions of Lives Globally

Cutting the intake of salt in people's diets will save millions of lives and public money, experts warn adding that its time for the governments around the world to decide how best to reduce population salt consumption.
 Speaking ahead of a United Nations High Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases, Professor Francesco Cappuccio and colleagues argue that lowering dietary salt intake has the potential to substantially reduce levels of stroke and heart disease and save millions of lives globally. Studies also show that reducing salt intake is cost saving. 
The question, they say, is not whether to reduce salt intake but how to do so. 
The World Health Organisation has set a global goal to reduce dietary salt intake to less than 5 g (about one teaspoon) per person per by 2025, yet salt intake in many countries is currently much higher than this. 
The authors say this could be done through mass media campaigns and engagement with the food industry to set limits on the salt content of processed foods. 
For example, in the UK a reduction of 3 g salt intake per day would prevent up to 8,000 stroke deaths and up to 12,000 coronary heart disease deaths per year. 
A similar reduction in the USA would result in up to 120,000 fewer cases of coronary heart disease, up to 66,000 strokes and up to 99,000 heart attacks annually. It would also save up to $24 billion annually in health care costs.