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A very interesting report:

Smoking bans may reduce heart attacks by more than a thirdThe number of heart attacks has fallen steeply in countries where bans on smoking in public places have been introduced, according to two independent reviews

Smoking bans were introduced in pubs and other public places in England and Wales in 2007.

The ban on smoking in public places could reduce heart attacks by more than a third in some parts of the world, say researchers.

Two independent health reviews have found that heart attack rates dropped steeply in areas where bans have been introduced, with one reporting 36% fewer cases three years after smoke-free legislation came in.

Smoking in pubs, restaurants and other public spaces was banned in England and Wales in July 2007, a year after similar laws were introduced in Scotland. The Scottish ban led to a 14% fall in the number of people being admitted to hospital with a heart attack the following year.

A Department of Health study of heart attack rates in England and Wales is not due to report until next year, but experts believe the number of cases in the regions has already fallen by around 10% as a result of the smoking ban.

The latest reviews, which draw on published studies from the US, Canada, France, Italy, Ireland and Scotland, suggest heart attacks in Britain will fall even further over the next two years.

"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," said James Lightwood, a health economist at the University of California in San Francisco and co-author of one of the reviews, published in the US journal Circulation.

Dr Lightwood analysed 13 published reports on heart attacks in countries or states where smoking bans have been introduced. A year after the bans were brought in, heart attacks had fallen by an average of 17%. After three years, the number of heart attacks had dropped by 36%.

"This study adds to the already strong evidence that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100% smoke-free laws in all work places and public places is something we can do to protect the public," Dr Lightwood said.

Heart attacks may fall more modestly in Britain than other European countries because many workplaces imposed smoking bans before nationwide laws were passed.

A second review, by David Meyers at the University of Kansas, drew on 10 studies from the same regions. His report, which is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found heart attacks had fallen by 17% on average a year after smoking bans were imposed. Most of the benefit was seen among young people and non-smokers.

Smoking doubles the risk of heart attack by making blood clots form more easily and, in the longer term, by hardening the arteries. Passive smokers, who regularly inhale tobacco fumes from others, have around a 30% greater risk of heart attack.

Nearly 10m people in Britain smoke and around 114,000 die each year of smoking-related diseases. According to figures released by the Department of Health today, the NHS has saved 70,000 lives by supporting those who want to quit.

"The public smoking ban is the single most important and cost-effective health policy we have. The amount of money it will save the NHS is enormous," said John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University.

 

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