End of salt reduction drive led to 24,000 premature deaths in England – study

Average salt intake in England fell by almost 20% after the Food Standards Agency programme began in 2006, but rose again after the drive was ditched in 2011. Photograph: Hera Food/Alamy

Thousands of people have died avoidably after the government stopped telling the food industry to cut how much salt it puts into its products, research has found.

Salt is a significant cause of high blood pressure, which leads to tens of thousand of people a year suffering or dying from a heart attack or stroke.