Effect of public smoking ban in Helena, Montana: When results look too good to be true, they probably are

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7452.1379-b

BMJ 2004;328:1379 (5 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7452.1379-b

Letter

Effect of public smoking ban in Helena, Montana

When results look too good to be true, they probably are

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—As a cancer researcher who has published extensivelyon the harmful effects of smoking, I am in favor of vigoroussmoking bans. However, the study by Sargent et al, claimingthat the six month smoking ban in Helena, Montana, was associatedwith an immediate 40% drop in heart attacks must be viewed withscepticism.¹

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Admissions for acute myocardial infarction during six month periods June-November before, during (2002), and after smoke-free3 ordinance was implemented in Helena alone on 5 June 2002

Firstly, the researchers had no information on whether exposureto second hand smoke changed as a result of the ban. They alsodid not present any information on whether smoking habits wereaffected by the ban. If the study was concerned to isolate aneffect of second hand tobacco smoke, it should have been restrictedto the 33% of the study population who were never smokers.

Secondly, the . . . [Full text of this article]

Geoffrey Kabat, epidemiologist

16 Bon Air Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804, USA gck1@optonline.net

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