Packages of sodium (Salt) sold for consumption and salt dispensers should be required to have a front of package health warning label: A position statement of the World Hypertension League, national and international health and scientific organizations

Abstract

Dietary risks in aggregate are the leading risk for death globally. Among dietary risks, high dietary sodium (salt) is the leading risk.1 Globally, excess dietary sodium is estimated to have caused over 3 million deaths and over 70 million disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALYS) in 2017.1, 2 High dietary sodium is predominantly a risk as a result of increasing blood pressure (the leading single risk for death globally) but is also a probable pro‐carcinogen for gastric cancer, directly causes cardiovascular and renal damage independent of blood pressure, and is associated with several other diseases.1, 3-11 The recent National Academy of Medicine review of the evidence for dietary sodium consumption in United States and Canada concluded that excess dietary sodium increases blood pressure, that elevated blood pressure causes cardiovascular disease (CVD) and that there is moderately strong evidence that high dietary sodium directly increases total mortality and cardiovascular events.12 In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that increased dietary sodium increases blood pressure and is associated with CVD.13 Multiple other diseases have associations and biologically sound pathophysiological mechanisms for sodium causing harm, but clinical evidence is not substantive enough to prove causality.3 In addition, acute ingestion of sodium chloride (salt) in the range of 17 g or more in an adult, and 12.5 g or more in an infant can cause seizures, coma, and death. Although ingestions of large quantities of sodium are very distasteful and believed to be infrequent, both accidental and intentional deaths do occur.12, 14