BMJ  2004;328 (24 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7446.0

Do public smoking bans reduce heart attacks?

Banning smoking from public places may decrease the risk of having a myocardial infarction. In a study from the United States, Sargent and colleagues (p 977) analysed admissions for acute myocardial infarction to the only hospital serving Helena, Montana, where tobacco smoking in public and workplaces was banned between June and December 2002. During the six months of the smoking ban, admissions of people living outside Helena increased, but admissions of people living in Helena were significantly reduced. The reduction was not sustained after the law was suspended. Even if these results are plausible, say Pechacek and Babb (p 980) in an accompanying commentary, the small size of the study and the lack of data on exposure are limitations.

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