“Substantial changes” in food production are needed to improve Americans’ health by reducing salt consumption, Frieden, who previously headed New York City’s health department, said in an editorial published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“After tobacco control, the most cost-effective intervention to control chronic diseases might be reduction of sodium intake".
Levying a “sodium tax” could decrease U.S. sodium consumption by another percent and save $22.4 billion in medical costs, the study found. No country has imposed such a tax, according to the report.