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Cardiology |
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| 16 Oct 2009 | Viewed: 42 | |
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Smoking bans are effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks
and heart disease associated with exposure to secondhand smoke, says a
new report from the Institute of Medicine. The report also confirms
there is sufficient evidence that breathing secondhand smoke boosts
nonsmokers' risk for heart problems, adding that indirect evidence
indicating that even relatively brief exposures could lead to a heart
attack is compelling.
"It's clear that smoking bans work," said Lynn Goldman, professor of
environmental health sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, Baltimore, and chair of the committee of experts that wrote the
report. "Bans reduce the risks of heart attack in nonsmokers as well as
smokers. Further research could explain in greater detail how great the
effect is for each of these groups and how secondhand smoke produces
its toxic effects. However, there is no question that smoking bans have
a positive health effect."
About 43 percent of nonsmoking children and 37 percent of nonsmoking
adults are exposed to secondhand smoke in the United States, according
to public health data. Despite significant reductions in the
percentages of Americans breathing environmental tobacco smoke over the
past several years, roughly 126 million nonsmokers were still being
exposed in 2000.
A 2006 report from the U.S. Surgeon General's office, the health
consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, concluded that
exposure to secondhand smoke causes heart disease and indicated that
smoke-free policies are the most economical and effective way to reduce
exposure. However, the effectiveness of smoking bans in reducing heart
problems has continued to be a source of debate.
The IOM committee conducted a comprehensive review of published and
unpublished data and testimony on the relationship between secondhand
smoke and short-term and long-term heart problems. Eleven key studies
that evaluated the effects of smoking bans on heart attack rates
informed the committee's conclusions about the positive effects of
smoke-free policies. The studies calculated that reductions in the
incidence of heart attacks range from 6 percent to 47 percent. Given
the variations in how the studies were conducted and what they
measured, the committee could not determine more precisely how great
the effect is. Only two of the studies distinguished between reductions
in heart attacks suffered by smokers versus nonsmokers. However, the
repeated finding of decreased heart attack rates overall after bans
were implemented conclusively demonstrates that smoke-free policies
help protect people from the cardiovascular effects of tobacco smoke,
the committee said.
The report also provides a detailed discussion of the evidence from
animal research and epidemiological studies showing a cause-and-effect
relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and heart problems. The
committee was not able to determine the exact magnitude of the
increased risk presented by breathing environmental tobacco smoke, but
noted that studies consistently indicate it increases the risks by 25
percent to 30 percent. Although there is no direct evidence that a
relatively brief exposure to secondhand smoke could precipitate a heart
attack, the committee found the indirect evidence compelling. Data on
particulate matter in smoke from other pollution sources suggest that a
relatively brief exposure to such substances can initiate a heart
attack, and particulate matter is a major component of secondhand
smoke.
The report was sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Established in 1970 under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine provides independent,
objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals,
the private sector, and the public. The National Academy of Sciences,
National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National
Research Council make up the National Academies.
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| News Source: medical news today |
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