The ban on smoking in public places has reduced heart attacks, two studies report

When state and city governments in the U.S., Europe and Canada first proposed bans on smoking in public places, the actions sparked a debate about the rights of individuals. On the one side you had smokers who argued they should have the right to do whatever they want with their own bodies. On the other side were nonsmokers who proclaimed it wasn't fair to have no control over their exposure to second-hand smoke. Now, we're beginning to see some results from these bans. In addition to making life more bearable for nonsmokers, the ban also appears to have reaped growing health benefits. It has reduced heart attacks and perhaps, saved lives. The results of two newly published studies report that communities that have banned smoking in public places show an average reduction of 17 percent in the number of heart attacks occurring in the first year of the ban, according to a CNN report. The health benefits continued to improve year after year. For each year after the first year implementing smoking bans, smoke-free communities have an average 26 percent decline in heart attacks, compared with those areas that still allow smoking in public places. The studies appear in the journals Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. One of the researchers, Dr. David Meyers of the University of Kansas School of Medicine said a nationwide ban on smoking in public and workplaces could prevent 100,000 to 225,000 heart attacks each year in the U.S. alone. So far 32 states and many cities have laws to ban smoking in public places. These studies provide some hard statistics that other states and communities without bans cannot ignore. Say what you want about individual rights, but I'd like to enjoy my right to be saved from the effects of second-hand smoke.