A recently released study suggests that smoking bans may reduce hospitalizations for heart attacks by more than 40 percent. If you needed a reminder why following through with that New Year’s resolution to quit smoking is important, this may be it.

The study, released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), looked at hospitalizations due to heart attacks in the town of Pueblo, Colorado for the years 2003- 2006. In 2003, Pueblo passed a smoke-free law restricting smoking in almost all businesses and indoor areas open to the public, including bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and bingo halls within the city limits.

The results showed that hospitalizations for heart attacks declined by 41 percent in the three years after the ban took effect, while two nearby towns that had not passed smoking bans showed no such drop. This suggests that the smoking was likely responsible for the reduction in heart attacks.

Several earlier studies have linked smoking bans to decreased heart attacks, but none of those looked at data from the three years following enactment of a smoking ban.

The study authors point out that the results could be interpreted to mean that secondhand smoke exposure is a contributing factor in many heart attacks, and that instituting smoking bans throughout the country could save countless lives.

However, there are other possible explanations for the decline in heart attacks, such as that some smokers may have quit smoking or smoked less after the ban, reducing their likelihood of experiencing a heart attack. In fact, some data suggest that the smoking rate has declined by five percent since the ban. The study did not examine which heart attack victims were smokers and which were not.

For more information about quitting smoking or to find support for your effort, visit the Healia Health Community for Smoking. For more information on heart attacks, read the Healia Health Guide on Heart Disease or join the Healia Health Community for Heart Attack.

See the study report on the CDC’s Web site.


_{Photo: greefus goinks, Flickr, Creative Commons}