Secondhand Smoke

Research

Mass. smoking ban might be linked to fewer fatal heart attacks
A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health shows that deaths from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) decreased by 7.4% in Massachusetts after the implementation of the state’s smoke-free workplace law. Investigators used death records to compare the fatal heart attack rates in the state’s cities and towns to explore the impact of the 2004 law. They found that after adjusting for demographic factors, the overall rate of deaths from AMI dropped by 7.4% from 1999 to 2006; a larger decrease of 9.2% was seen in cities and towns that did not have a local smoking ordinance in place prior to the statewide ban. Although it does not conclusively confirm that the law directly led to fewer heart attacks, this study adds to the body of evidence that suggests smoke-free air laws are associated with lowered rates of AMI. Click here to read more, or read the study abstract.

Influence of a tobacco-free hospital campus policy on smoking status of hospital employees
In a recent study, researchers examined whether enacting a smoke-free hospital policy could affect employees’ smoking status. Employees were surveyed prior to the implementation of the smoke-free policy to determine smoking status, and the 307 respondents who were either current smokers or had quit smoking within the past six months received follow-up surveys at six and twelve months after the implementation of the smoke-free policy. Between 15% and 18.5% of this group reported not smoking at each of the three time points. Sixty percent of those who reported quit attempts or abstinence from smoking stated that the hospital’s smoke-free policy had influenced their efforts to quit smoking. Click here to read the abstract of the article, which was published in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

top

Back to Table of Contents