Smokefree Workplace Law Reduces Heart Attacks 59% Among Nonsmokers, New Research Shows

    BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new study
 released by Indiana University researchers shows that strong smokefree
 workplace laws result in immediate and significant improvements in heart
 health, particularly in nonsmokers. The study found a 59% net decrease in
 hospital admissions for heart attacks, also known as acute myocardial
 infarctions (AMIs), in nonsmokers with no prior cardiac history in Monroe
 County, Indiana versus the control county during the study period which
 tracked 22 months prior to and following the implementation of a smokefree
 law.
 
     According to Cynthia Hallett, Executive Director of Americans for
 Nonsmokers' Rights, "The Monroe County, Indiana study is the eighth looking
 at the link between smokefree laws and heart disease. The results are
 consistent among all these reports, conducted by different researchers in
 different communities. The bottom line is smokefree laws save lives."
 
     The study, "Reduced Admission for Acute Myocardial Infarction
 Associated with a Public Smoking Ban: Matched Controlled Study," conducted
 by Dong-Chul Seo, Ph.D. and Mohammad Torabi, Ph.D. will be published in the
 coming month's Journal of Drug Education. It measured whether or not there
 was a change in admissions for acute myocardial infarctions in patients
 with no history of previous cardiac events or key risk factors for cardiac
 events [hypertension and/or high cholesterol] during the study period - the
 22 months prior to and 22 months since the implementation of a smokefree
 law that covers workplaces, restaurants, bars and clubs in Monroe County,
 Indiana vs. the control county, Delaware County, Indiana, which had no
 smokefree law during the study.
 
     The Monroe County study is groundbreaking because it is the first to
 examine the impact of a smokefree workplace law on the heart health of
 nonsmokers, rather than the general population. It reaffirms the
 conclusions of the landmark 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's Report, The Health
 Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Exposure, which
 states that secondhand smoke exposure may have immediate effects on the
 cardiovascular systems of nonsmokers.
 
     Previous studies in Helena, Montana and Pueblo, Colorado showed a 40%
 and a 27% overall drop in acute myocardial infarctions following the
 implementation of smokefree workplace laws in those cities. Studies in New
 York, Ireland, Scotland, and Italy found similar results.
 
     "Smokefree indoor air is a mainstream idea whose time has come," said
 Hallett. "It's no longer a question of who will be next to go smokefree,
 but who will be last."
 
     More than 655 U.S. local communities and 25 states have enacted local
 laws providing for smokefree air in all enclosed workplaces, including
 restaurants and bars, according to the ANR Foundation Local Ordinance
 Database. Nearly 60% of the US population is protected by a smokefree law,
 but gaps remain in some regions and job sectors.
 
     Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights is a national, member-based,
 not-for-profit organization based in Berkeley, CA that is dedicated to
 helping nonsmokers breathe smokefree air in enclosed public places and
 workplaces.
 
 
     For more information:
 
     Indiana University Press Release:
     http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/print/5610.html
 
     List of Secondhand Smoke/Heart Disease Studies:
     http://no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=25
 
     Map of Cities and States with Smokefree Laws:
     http://no-smoke.org/pdf/100Map.pdf
 
 
 

SOURCE Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights