Long-term benefits of smoke-free public places
 Several studies have reported that laws making indoor workplaces and public places smoke-free are associated with reductions in hospitalizations due to acute heart attacks.
Now, results from The Pueblo Heart Study show benefits 36 months after the smoke-free ordinance in Pueblo, Colorado went into effect.
First, the details.
- Pueblo has a law that makes it illegal to smoke cigarettes in indoor workplaces and public places — smoke-free.
- Hospitalizations for acute heart attack in Pueblo vs surrounding communities that do not have a smoke-free law were compared.
- 0 to 18 months before the law
- 0 to 18 months after the law
- 19 to 36 months after the law
- There was no overlap in the communities served by the Pueblo hospitals compared to the surrounding community hospitals surveyed.
And, the results.
- There were 399 hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo during the 18 months before the smoke-free ordinance took effect.
- 19 to 36 months after the law went into effect, there were 237 heart attack hospitalizations — a 41% decline.
- The hospitals serving communities with no smoke-free law did not see a decline.
The bottom line?
There had been a 27% drop in the rate of heart attack hospitalizations during the first 18 months after the ordinance was enacted compared to 18 months before the smoke-free policy took effect.
What’s special about The Pueblo Heart Study is the initial reduction in heart attack hospitalizations after a smoke-free law took effect was sustained for 3 years.
1/5/09 19:24 JR
