diff --git a/core/hakmem_shared_pool.c b/core/hakmem_shared_pool.c
index 3441e00b..c33270cc 100644
--- a/core/hakmem_shared_pool.c
+++ b/core/hakmem_shared_pool.c
@@ -1218,11 +1218,15 @@ shared_pool_release_slab(SuperSlab* ss, int slab_idx)
     }
 
     // Debug logging
+#if !HAKMEM_BUILD_RELEASE
     static int dbg = -1;
     if (__builtin_expect(dbg == -1, 0)) {
         const char* e = getenv("HAKMEM_SS_FREE_DEBUG");
         dbg = (e && *e && *e != '0') ? 1 : 0;
     }
+#else
+    static const int dbg = 0;
+#endif
 
     // P0 instrumentation: count lock acquisitions
     lock_stats_init();