Chronic Disease Plan 'Can Save 32m'

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 06 Dec 2007 - 3:00 PST

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Researchers say that simple measures to reduce salt intake, smoking and damage to arteries could save 32 million lives a year by 2015 in those countries most afflicted by chronic disease.

The annual cost of the strategy would be equivalent to just 50p per head in the countries investigated.

Experts conducted a series of studies looking at achievable ways to reduce the chronic disease burden in 23 low to middle-income countries around the world. They included Mexico, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Poland, Thailand and China.

The countries were chosen because between them they account for more than 80% of worldwide deaths due to heart disease, cancer, chronic lung conditions and diabetes.

The measures could be achieved through voluntary reductions in the salt content of processed foods and anti-tobacco measures such as workplace smoking bans, higher tobacco taxes, and health warnings on cigarette packets.

The experts, who reported their findings in a special series of papers to be published in The Lancet medical journal, said the lives could be saved with sufficient commitment.

Professor Robert Beaglehole, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, a member of the international team, said: "Nothing like this has ever been presented for chronic diseases before.

"We can avert 32 million deaths by 2015, and approximately half of these averted deaths would be among relatively young people under 70 years of age."

http://www.ash.org.uk

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