Banning smoking in public places reduced premature births and childhood asthma attacks by 10 percent, a new study found.
A lot of emphasis and controversies have surrounded smoking ban polices. However, the efforts seem to be finally paying off. After studying data gathered from North America and Europe, University of Edinburg researchers found that premature births reduced by 10 percent owing to bans on smoking in public places. Researchers also noted a 10 percent decrease in hospital attendance for childhood asthma attacks.
"Our research shows that smoking bans are an effective way to protect the health of our children. These findings should help to accelerate the introduction of anti-smoking legislation in areas not currently protected," Dr Jasper Been of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences, said in a press statement.
The researchers looked at over 2.5 million births and almost 250,000 hospital attendances for asthma attacks for the study.
Unfortunately, less than 16 percent of nations around the world have anti-smoking laws in place. This means more than 40 percent of children worldwide are exposed to second-hand smoking. It is estimated that approximately 160,000 young lives are affected by passive smoking each year, causing significantly more disabilities.
Passive smoking has many adverse effects on children even before they are born. A previous study found that exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy increases the risk of still and premature births, in addition to various other birth defects, asthma and lung infections.
Individuals exposed to second hand smoking during childhood are also at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes in later life, according to another study.
"This research has demonstrated the very considerable potential that smoke-free legislation offers to reduce preterm births and childhood asthma attacks. The many countries that are yet to enforce smoke-free legislation should in the light of these findings reconsider their positions on this important health policy question," Professor Aziz Sheikh, Co-Director of the Centre for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said in the new study.
Second hand smoking also affects humans in a big way. More than 5 million deaths per year in the United States are caused due to tobacco. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in every 10 tobacco-related deaths is due to passive smoking.
Passive smoking, also known as second-hand smoking, is a mixture of gases and fine particles including smoke from a burning cigarette, smoke that has been exhaled or breathed out by the person smoking and more than 7,000 chemicals. Of these, at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), second-hand smoking is responsible for an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia annually. Approximately 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States are also a consequence of passive smoking.
In July this year, the state of New York will celebrate the 11th anniversary of its indoor smoking ban act. The Clean Indoor Air Act was introduced in 2003. According to the act, smoking in bars, restaurants, bingo halls and bowling alleys is illegal and can attract a penalty of up to $2,000. Over the decade many other smoke-free laws have been introduced across the country. Smoking rates reduced by 16 percent among adults and by over 40 percent among the youth. According to the American Lung Association's annualState of Tobacco Control report, New York has the highest tobacco tax. This has also curbed smoking rates in the city.
A study conducted earlier this year revealed that anti-smoking campaigns and tobacco control strategies were able to save eight million lives over the last 50 years.
Despite these achievements, lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer among both men and women in the United States. Furthermore, according to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 100 million deaths worldwide were linked to tobacco use and exposure. About 443,000 Americans die every year due to tobacco-related illnesses.
The latest study was published online in the journal The Lancet. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
