Top doctor claims failure to cut salt has killed 12,000

AS MANY as 12,000 people may have died needlessly of heart attacks and strokes because of the Government’s ‘disastrous’ policy on salt, a leading doctor has claimed.

Meddling by former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley meant vital salt reduction targets – which should have been introduced four years ago – have only just been agreed, said Professor Graham MacGregor of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine.

People should eat no more than 6g of salt a day, according to the World Health Organisation. Higher intake can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The average Briton currently consumes about 8g.

Prof MacGregor claimed that, had targets been set four years ago, consumption would now be 0.5g per day lower. He said: ‘We estimate we would have saved approximately 3,000 people a year if the targets had been set by the Food Standards Agency in 2010.’

Mr Lansley took responsibility for public nutrition away from the FSA in 2010 and gave it to the Department of Health. Prof MacGregor claimed this ‘basically caused chaos’. He said that Mr Lansley also ‘adamantly refused’ to set a rolling target for reduction in the 2010-2014 period – leading to ‘a loss of momentum’.

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Far from lacking momentum, the World Health Organisation has said our salt reduction work is world leading.’