Bans on smoking in public places are saving lives, as well as money, by slashing hospital admissions from a wide variety of diseases; a phenomena just documented in Arizona where the state's indoor smoking ban slashed admissions by as much as 33%, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the national organization which started the movement to restrict and subsequently ban smoking in public places.
The just-release study showed that Arizona's smoking ban reduced hospital admissions for unstable angina by 33%, by 22% for asthma, 14% for acute strokes, and 13% for AMI (acute myocardial infarction). All of these are major -- and sometimes deadly -- medical conditions, and all can be very expensive to treat, both in the initial hospital admission, and also in the longer term care if the patient survives, says Banzhaf, noting that much of this cost is paid by nonsmokers in the form of higher taxes or inflated health insurance premiums.
"As the federal government has warned, breathing even small amounts of drifting tobacco smoke while seated in the no-smoking section of a restaurant can trigger a fatal heart attack in a nonsmoker in as little as 30 minutes," notes Banzhaf. This warning, and many other studies, are reported at: http://ash.org/
Indeed, exposure to secondhand smoke for as little as 30 minutes can increase a nonsmokers' risk of a heart attack to virtually that of a smoker, especially for those already at heightened risk. This includes men over 40, post-menopausal women, those who are obese or don't get enough exercise or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol or diabetes, and/or a personal or family history of cardiovascular problems.
The most recent study from Arizona reinforces the findings of many similar studies from other jurisdictions which likewise show large -- often double digit -- declines in hospital admission rates as a direct result of legislated smoking bans. These studies have documented the sharp decline in hospital admissions in locations like: Helena, MO, Pueblo, CO, NY, Piedmont, Italy, Ireland, and Scotland.
"It's now overwhelmingly clear that the deadly risks of inhaling secondhand tobacco smoke are real and not simply statistical, and that bans on smoking in public places -- including restaurants and bars -- reduce medical problems and hospital admissions, saving both lives and money," says Prof. Banzhaf.
PROFESSOR JOHN F. BANZHAF III
Professor of Public Interest Law at GWU,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
FELLOW, World Technology Network, and
Executive Director and Chief Counsel
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
America’s First Antismoking Organization
2013 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006, USA
(202) 659-4310 // (703) 527-8418
http://ash.org/
