The medical community in the Republic of Moldova, including family doctors, will be in charge of informing the population about the danger of excessive salt intake to health. In this regard, on Tuesday, September 3, a national campaign was launched, to be carried out with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The purpose of the campaign is to reduce salt consumption by about 30% by 2025, and, as a consequence, to reduce non-communicable diseases associated with excessive salt intake, IPN reports.

The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Alexandru Voloc, said at a press conference that authorities had prepared an advertising spot to be broadcast on radio and television which would inform people that their daily salt intake should not exceed 5 grams. The population will be urged to replace the salt with herbs and spices as well as to promote healthy habits among children.

Alexandru Voloc also said that authorities were preparing to change the legal and normative framework in order to determine the economic agents to reduce the salt content in foodstuffs. Representatives of hotels, restaurants and cafes will be urged to remove the salt from the tables and bring it only upon request. According to the Secretary of State, excessive salt intake raises blood pressure, affects the heart and blood vessels, that is why teaching people to reduce salt intake is aimed at diminishing mortality caused by cardiovascular diseases.

The Deputy Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in the Republic of Moldova, Viorica Crețu, said that in most post-Soviet countries the unhealthy habit of adding salt to the already salted food persists. According to Viorica Crețu, this habit goes back to childhood and is passed on from generation to generation. Therefore, parents should be careful with their children’s health.

Program coordinator of the World Health Organization Office in the Republic of Moldova, Stela Gheorghiță, warns that health is not an object that you can take from the doctor, for health you must fight every day, and the reduction of salt consumption is an example in this sense.

According to a study conducted in 2016, salt intake in the population of the Republic of Moldova exceeded twofold the daily 5 grams recommended by the World Health Organization. Salt intake is higher among men than among women, and is greater in villages than in cities. Bread is the product with the highest content of salt in one’s diet. On average, a person consumes 333 grams of bread per day, which contains 5.5 grams of salt.