Heart attacks fall after Scottish smoking ban
Hospital admissions after heart attacks have fallen by 17 per cent following Scotland's ban on smoking in public places, according to research released this week.
The research is part of a national evaluation of the smoking ban’s
impact. It involved recording hospital admissions for heart attacks at
nine hospitals in Scotland during the year after the smoking ban was
introduced.
Sally Haw, principal public health adviser, Health Scotland, and research
co-ordinator, commented: “The programme of evaluation is the most
comprehensive yet conducted into the impact of smoke-free legislation.
We found clear evidence of improvement in air quality, a 40 per cent
reduction in second-hand smoke exposure in the population and a dramatic
17 per cent reduction in heart attacks.”
The reasearchers also found no evidence that smoking had shifted from
public places to people’s homes and that there was high public
support for the ban, even among smokers.
The 17 per cent figure compares with an annual 3 per cent fall in heart
attacks in the previous decade. The research was presented at a conference
organised by the Scottish Government and Health Scotland in Edinburgh.
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