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

[Sweetpea]

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.
In the remaining 48 trusts, the number of admissions remained the same or increased slightly.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article4131177.ece


Brilliant!!

[Bruv]

I must agree.....bloody brilliant.

Now standing back and putting my cynical hat on.....
An unpopular government initiative has publicly been proven to be affective,when the government is going through a bad patch.

'In the remaining 48 trusts, the number of admissions remained the same or increased slightly.'

I would like to see if this fall happens over a longer period, and if there could be other factors......I have no doubt it would.
But tend to question 'Good news' stories and their timeing from the present government.

[Sweetpea]

I agree. Giganticous Baboonus needs a little 'lifting' out of the mire.

[Churchill]

Only since July 1st last year. Could it be because no new council tax bills produced between then and this April?

[poppy]

Well that certainly, proves the point.
I am so glad I quit. haven't smoked for about 20 years.