North America and Europe have seen 17% fewer heart attacks one year after passing smoking ban legislation, compared to communities that did not introduce new smoking restrictions. A report, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association explained that the number of heart attacks kept falling with time.
The meta-analysis – a study of 13 major studies in which scientists looked at changes in heart attack incidences after smoking bans were introduced in the USA, Canada and Europe – found that the total number of heart attacks dropped immediately, 17% within one year, accumulating to 36% over a three-year-period.
James M. Lightwood, Ph.D., study co-author, assistant adjunct professor in the department of clinical pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco said “While we obviously won’t bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings give us evidence that in the short- to medium-term, smoking bans will prevent a lot of heart attacks. The studies on this issue now have long enough follow-up periods so that we can see exactly how big the effect is.”
Lightwood added that the community effect is consistent with likely individual risk and exposure scenarios. For example, non-smokers who are exposed to passive smoke inhalation in the workplace or at home have a 25% to 30% higher risk of developing heart disease American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2009 Update. According to this new research, this specific risk may be even higher.
Lightwood said “This study adds to the already strong evidence that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100 percent smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public. Now we have a better understanding of how you can predict what will happen if you impose a smoking-free law.”
This study provides strong support for the argument that smoke free laws protect public health, said David Goff M.D. Ph. D., Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention and Professor of Public Health Sciences and Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem. Goff is also an American Heart Association national spokesperson.
Goff said “This is good evidence that the benefits are realistic and consistent with reasonable estimates of the harm imposed by secondhand smoke. It is important to move forward now with widespread implementation of smoke-free laws. At a time of great concern over the financial sustainability of our healthcare system, smoke free laws represent an inexpensive approach to reducing heart attacks, and, probably, other cardiovascular conditions.”
“Declines in Acute Myocardial Infarction After Smoke-Free Laws and Individual Risk Attributable to Secondhand Smoke”
James M. Lightwood PhD and Stanton A. Glantz PhD
Circulation September 21, 2009, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.870691
Written by Christian Nordqvist