Taxes, rules can cut heart deaths in half

Government intervention to make health a priority could prevent as much as 50 percent of deaths from cardiovascular disease in Europe, researchers say. Study co-author Simon Capewell of the University of Liverpool, a member of the European Society of Cardiology's European Affairs Committee, said cardiovascular mortality declined rapidly in the Czech Republic and Poland after the breakup of the Soviet Union, when subsidies on unhealthy animal fat were removed and subsidies on vegetables were introduced. "Population interventions make the environment healthier and change happens automatically whereas with an individual approach you need an active response," Capewell said in a statement. Structural changes -- such as a smoking ban in public places -- influence the whole population. Individual prevention relies on each citizen to take action, such as an individual quitting smoking. The researchers argued responsibility for structural changes at the population level rests with politicians, administrative authorities and health professionals at international, national and local levels. To reduce heart disease deaths in Europe the researchers recommended: -- Healthy dietary habits be supported by changes in agricultural policies, taxing sugar and saturated fat, subsidizing fruit and vegetables, reducing salt and trans-fatty acids in processed foods and limiting advertising for junk food. -- Completely smoke-free environments. -- Physical activities should be integrated in daily life by subsidies to public transport and re-allocating of road space to cycle and footpath lanes. -- Alcohol intake reduced by taxation, low availability, regulation of advertising and low social and legal tolerance of drunk driving. The findings were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.