Ban lowers heart attacks

Stubbing it out: smoking ban showed dramatic reduction in heart attacks

A town that banned smoking in public for six months saw heart attack rates plunge by almost 60 per cent.

But when the prohibition was lifted, the rate quickly bounced back to its previous level.

The study involved a remote U.S. town with just one cardiac hospital - offering laboratory-perfect conditions - and the researchers said they were 'stunned' by the results.

The smoking ban in Helena, Montana, was imposed and rescinded as a result of a glitch in state politics.

In June 2002, the state legislature, under pressure for having one of the worst health education records, banned smoking in Helena's restaurants, bars, public buildings, buses, taxis and shops.

But in December, the state bowed to pressure from the tobacco lobby and Montana Tavern Association and lifted the ban.

Helena is a geographically isolated town with a population of 66,000 and only one hospital for cardiac care, St Peter's, within a 60-mile radius.

This made it easy to control the study sample and methodology. The researchers found there was no change in heart attack rates among those who lived outside the city limits, where there was no ban.

But for urban residents, the rate dropped 58 per cent in six months. It returned to previous levels six months after the ban was lifted.

While the actual figures are statistically small, the researchers are adamant the results are reliable and could be applied to bigger samples.

The American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society are using the study in a bid to get smoking banned from all public buildings. Already, it is banned in public places in New York.

Ireland and the Netherlands have also decided to ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants and pubs from next January, and Brussels wants other EU member countries to follow suit.

Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine who conducted the statistical analysis for the Montana study, said: 'We know from longer-term studies that the effects of secondhand smoke can occur within minutes, and that long-term exposure

to secondhand smoke is associated with a 30 per cent increased risk in heart attacks. But it was quite stunning to document this large an effect so quickly.'

Researcher Dr Richard Sargent said a previous study showed smokers' spouses were 30 per cent more likely to have a heart attack.

'Secondhand smoke causes your arteries to spasm so they carry less blood and a clot will block the artery.

'We can measure nicotine or carbon monoxide in your system for 40 hours after a single 30-minute exposure.

'An immediate decline in heart attacks is possible due to absence of smoke.'

St Peter's Hospital has now set up a wider study with the University of California in San Francisco.

Dr Robert Shephard, from St Peter's, said the study proves that the health benefits of smoking bans are not theoretical.

'They are real and immediate,' he added.

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