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Wednesday » December 5 » 2007
Simple health steps could save millions of lives
Reduced salt intake, more tobacco control urged
Reuters
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
CHICAGO -- Widespread efforts to cut salt intake, curb smoking and to ensure those at risk of heart disease take needed drugs could prevent millions of deaths each year, international researchers said on Tuesday.
Such simple measures would also save billions of dollars in lost productivity and health costs, researchers from the World Health Organization and others said in a special report in The Lancet medical journal.
They looked at prevention efforts in 23 low and middle-income countries -- including China, India, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Poland and Nigeria -- in which 80 per cent of global deaths from chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes occur.
Reducing salt intake by 15 per cent and implementing tobacco control measures such as raising taxes, enforcing smoke-free workplaces and public awareness efforts would prevent nearly 14 million deaths over 10 years at a cost of less than 40 cents per person in low to middle-income countries, Dr. Perviz Asaria of Kings Fund London reported.
Asaria and colleagues said salt consumption could be cut by reducing salt in processed foods and running a mass media campaign to encourage people to use less salt.
"Our findings show that over 10 years, 13.8 million deaths could be averted if the selected measures to reduce tobacco and salt exposure were implemented," they wrote.
In a separate study, Stephen Lim of the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues said targeting and treating people at high risk of heart disease in low to middle-income countries could avert 18 million deaths in 10 years.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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