Prohibiting tobacco smoking in workplaces and other public spaces may substantially improve public health, according to a recent study.
A new study on the impact of Michigan's statewide smoking ban - which was presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session - suggests that smoke-free air policies reduces heart disease and premature death, according to a press release.
Secondhand smoke exposure - which experts have warned can cause heart damage to healthy nonsmoking adults - is associated with an estimated 50,000 deaths among U.S. nonsmoking adults each year.
For the study, researchers examined the clinical impact of Michigan's smoke-free indoor air law by reviewing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for hospitalizations from heart attack, congestive heart failure and stroke one year before and after the ban implementation. They found a statistically significant reduction in cardiovascular disease and death with related hospitalizations decreasing by 2.03 percent from 65,329 to 64,002.
"There is no nationwide federal policy banning indoor smoking, even though such a policy might improve public health and potentially reduce health care costs," Sourabh Aggarwal, lead investigator of the study and resident physician at the Department of Internal Medicine at Western Michigan University School of Medicine, said in a statement. "Health care can't just take place at the individual level. It must be multipronged, and that includes public health policies being implemented at the highest levels."
Previous studies on indoor smoking bans have consistently shown a major decrease in hospital admissions for heart attacks after smoke-free laws went into effect.
In response, many states have passed smoke-free air laws that prohibit smoking in all indoor areas of a venue, fully protecting nonsmokers from involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke.
Michigan became the 38th state to enact a smoke-free indoor air law in 2010. The policy bans smoking in all worksites, including bars and restaurants.
