IMA opposes lifting ban on salt iodisation

NEW DELHI, APRIL 7: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) today opposed a reported move by the government to scrap the rule on compulsory i...

NEW DELHI, APRIL 7: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) today opposed a reported move by the government to scrap the rule on compulsory iodisation of common salt saying it will have adverse effect in a country where about 200 million people are at a risk of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDDs).

Denying any commercial interest in salt iodisation, which reportedly provoked the government move, IMA general secretary Dr Prem Aggarwal told reporters here, "The medical community strongly supported iodisation of salt which has successfully eliminated IDD from many countries."

IDDs like Goitre and Cretinism were the singlemost cause of mental retardation in the world. "These could be easily prevented by consumption of iodised salt," he said.

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In Switzerland, which began salt iodisation in 1922, Cretinism and Goitre have been eliminated, he informed.

A recent media report said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had asked the concerned ministries to lift the restriction on the production and sale of non-iodised salt, which started in 1997. But there has been no official notification to this effect.

"It is unfortunate that such a decision has been taken at the behest of some ill-informed people without consulting the medical fraternity. We will strongly lobby against the decision by individually writing to the MPs and MLAs and taking up the issue at the regional centres," Aggarwal said. Prevention of IDD through salt iodisation was cheapest and most sustainable,said Dr Abdullah, IDD expert in UNICEF.

People who are at IDD risk in the country constitute about a fifth of the worldwide figures. IDD are also responsible for reduction of intelligence quotient (IQ) in children, he said.

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The notions that iodised salt was produced only by multinational companies (MNCs) causing unemployment among small-scale salt manufacturers and iodisation resulted in salt price going up were also wrong, IMA president Dr T N Malhotra said.

"Low cost methods of salt iodisation were available and had been approved by the government," he said.

Moreover, there had been no evidence of any adverse effects from iodine intake in countries with routine salt iodisation, he added.

Iodine intake of one milligram (1000 micrograms) per day was considered safe. Iodisation of salt that allowed an intake of 150-300 micrograms per day, as was being done in India, took care of daily iodine needs, Aggarwal said.

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"Thus the likelihood of iodine intake exceeding one milligram per day in a person in the country is quite small," he added.

About 77 per cent of the salt sold in the country currently is iodised.