Salt tax could avert heart disease

A simple tax on salt could be the answer to cutting salt from the diet, saving lives as well as millions of dollars, a NZ study has found.

Slapping a hefty tax on salt could fill government coffers as well as spare thousands of people from heart disease, a New Zealand study has found.

Researchers from New Otago University in Dunedin investigated several salt reduction strategies to improve heart health and wipe millions off the nation's health bill.

The findings show a policy of forcibly reducing the amount of salt in all New Zealand-produced foods would reap the greatest health benefits and cost savings.

Dubbed the sinking lid strategy, the strategy would see Kiwis' salt consumption slowly drop over several years by a third to just one teaspoon a day.

Without the extra sodium clogging up arteries, New Zealanders could collectively expect to live an extra 211,000 quality-adjusted life-years over the remainder of their lifetimes, lead researcher Associate Professor Nick Wilson said.

"For many people this will mean only saving days or weeks of life but for those at risk of heart attacks and strokes in their 50s, the benefits could be measured in decades of extra life," Dr Wilson said.

These health improvements would in turn produce about $NZ1.1 billion ($A1.06 billion) in cost savings for the health system.

The second most effective strategy was an expensive salt tax that would earn the government $NZ450m annually.

This strategy would also motivate food manufacturers to find new ways to cut salt content.