Smoking Ban has Resulted Decrease in Cases of Heart Attacks in Italy, Says Study
14 th February 2008 – Italy imposed a ban on smoking in 2005. Since then, the number of cases of heart attacks has decreased sharply. According to Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association, coronary diseases and other events related to heart have reduced significantly.
Researchers in Rome in a study reported this. They said that such laws help improve public health. According to researchers, ever since the imposition of smoking ban, the number of heart attacks in men and women in the age group 35 to 64 years, which mostly include people, exposed to smoke in cafes, bars and restaurants, has fallen by 11 percent and 7.9 percent in the age group of 65 to 74 years. The study is very significant as it is the first study in Europe to show long-term benefits of smoking bans in public places.
According to Francesco Forastiere, these findings showed health benefits of European smoking bans in public places. He is an epidemiologist at the Rome Health Authority and led the study. He said, “Smoking bans in all public and workplaces result in an important reduction of acute coronary events. The smoking ban in Italy is working and having a real protective effect on population health.”
He said, “Most of this change is due to the decreased impact of passive smoke. This is ... important because it shows the impact of a health intervention that can be achieved in other countries.”
Major changes in Italy due to smoking bans
Some of the major benefits that Italy had after the imposition of smoking ban are as follows:
- Smoking rates fell from 34.9% to 30.5% in men and from 20.6% to 20.4% in women
- Sales of cigarettes lessen by 5.5 percent
- Concentration of fine particles indoor significantly diminish from a mean level of 119g/m3 to 43g/m3 one year after the ban
Smoking ban in other European nations
Nations like Italy , Britain , Ireland and a number of other European countries have banned smoking in public places. However, health experts want this ban extended to other European Union nations also.
Health benefits of smoking ban
Forastiere said, “Since coronary heart disease is a leading cause of death in Italy, the reduction observed had enormous public health implications. It will be interesting to see if the effect of the ban is stable over time and if similar positive health effects can be detected in other places.”
According to World Health Organization, smoking kills about four million people each year while about a quarter of deaths related to heart disease are due to cigarettes.
Researchers said that young men and women living in poorer areas appeared to have the greatest health benefit after the ban. | 
