Study Links Smoking Bans And Fewer Heart Attacks
Legislation restricting or banning smoking in public places reduces heart attacks, a study in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health suggests. The study examined trends in acute heart attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand following the enactment of legislation which made smoking illegal in all workplaces including bars and restaurants. The study showed that, three years after a smoking ban on all workplaces was introduced, hospital admissions for heart attacks among men and women aged 55-74 fell by 9 per cent. This figure rose to 13 per cent for 55-74 year olds who had never smoked. Overall, the research showed heart attacks among people aged 30 and over fell by an average of 5 per cent in the three years following the ban. read more