They’re counting on you not reading the study.
From FoodNavigator-USA:
Additionally, there is some evidence that population-wide salt reduction may be associated with lower incidence of heart disease and stroke.
In Finland, where a salt reduction campaign began in the 1970s, average consumption of salt fell by about a third over 30 years, to about 7 g a day for women and 8.3 g a day for men. According to a 2006 study published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, during the same time period,
average blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) fell by more than 10–mm Hg, and there was a 75% to 80% decrease in both stroke and coronary heart disease mortality in Finland.Dr Appel [head anti-salt nanny at Johns Hopkins] commented: “I can’t attribute all of the benefit to sodium reduction, but again it is hard to
believe that there would be a net benefit from the intervention if indeed sodium reduction were harmful.”
But according to Mort Satin of the Salt Institute in Health Outcomes Lessons from Finland’s Salt Reduction:
Despite an almost 50% reduction in the consumption of salt in Finland, there are no health benefits attributable to this intervention.