Canada smoking ban leads to drop in hospitalizations

"Hospital admissions for patients with heart and respiratory problems have dropped by around a third in Canada since anti-smoking laws were introduced in 2001, a new study showed. The 10-year study was carried out in the city of Toronto and aimed to measure the effects of banning smoking in restaurants and bars. "Research delineating the impact of smoke-free legislation on cardiovascular and respiratory outcomes could have an immense impact on public health, given that an estimated one billion people are expected to die during the 21st century as a result of tobacco-related disease," wrote lead author Alisa Naiman from the University of Toronto. Since smoking was banned nine years ago, hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions dropped 39 per cent and 33 per cent respectively, according to the article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal" - CanWest