Heart attack admissions fall by up to 40% since smoking ban

The number of heart attack patients being admitted to emergency wards has fallen sharply in more than half of England’s hospital trusts since smoking was banned in public places.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, are an early indication of the impact of the smoking ban on heart disease rates in England. Some hospitals have seen the number of cases fall by 41 per cent since last July.

The British Heart Foundation said that it showed the ban was the “most significant public health initiative this century”.

Studies in Scotland and Ireland, which introduced a public-smoking ban in 2006, showed hospital admissions for heart attacks falling by 17 and 14 per cent respectively. Comparable evidence has come from France and Italy.

These drops in the rate of heart attacks have been attributed to a large number of people stopping smoking, and far fewer people being exposed to airborne toxins through passive smoking.

The Government has not yet published figures documenting the effects of the ban in England. But NHS records show that there were 1,384 fewer heart attacks in the nine months after the legislation was introduced than in the same period a year earlier.

The figures, obtained by the Daily Mail, show admissions for heart attacks from 114 trusts: 66 saw a drop in admissions compared with the same period the year before. The most striking figures came from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, where there was a 41 per cent fall, or 418 fewer cases.

Heart attack admissions fall by up to 40% since smoking ban - Times Online

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It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

I'll smoke to that decrease, but yeah the 2nd hand smoke is just as bad for ya as the 1st hand and was prolly a major factor in the amounts of heart attacks, and because I'm nice and care about others, when I light one up it's away from people, there's no need they get sick from my dumbass decision to smoke

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- Thanks Elsa, Lonesnake - PRE Shadow Network Ranger

Pretty impressive, but all things considered I guess it's not too surprising. It's good to see an article come out to acknowledge this stuff though.

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Most people just smoke in your face, which is horrible at least your repecting the non smokers by not doing that. The only time when I smoke is when I get really stress and it really calms me down then i get a nicotine rush all day and also when I drink too. So it not often I do it.

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Set done by the awesome NormaN