NC Smoke-free Law Saves Lives: Dramatic Reduction in Heart Attack Rates

Congratulations to You're the Cure NC for your awesome work to get smoke-free in our state.

Today was a very exciting day for North Carolina! This morning, State Health Director Dr. Jeffrey Engel announced that visits to the emergency room by North Carolinians experiencing heart attacks has declined by 21 percent since the state’s Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law was enacted in January 2010. American Heart Association MAA Board President Dr. David Goff was a part of the historic announcement.

Here is the AHA news statement in response:

American Heart Association Statement
N.C. Heart Attack Rates Down Since Passage of Smoke-Free Law
Today, State Health Director Dr. Jeffrey Engel announced that visits to the emergency room by North Carolinians experiencing heart attacks has declined by 21 percent since the state’s Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law was enacted in January 2010. Researchers from the Division of Public Health and the University of North Carolina Department of Emergency Medicine compared rates of heart attack before the law in 2008 and 2009 to rates after the law took effect in 2010.

The American Heart Association applauds the results of the study, presented to the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force, as adding to the increasing number of studies that show the health and economic benefits of smoke free laws.

“The reduction seen in emergency department visits for heart attacks since passing our smoke-free law provides further evidence that such policies save lives while lowering healthcare costs and saving money,” said Dr. David Goff, American Heart Association Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Board President.

Secondhand smoke is a known cause of heart attacks, particularly for those with existing heart disease, family history of heart disease or with risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Data from the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General report on the consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke that stated there “is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke” and a 2009 report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association showed that heart attack rates drop after smoking bans and continue downward over time.

“This large decrease in emergency room visits is a validation of the hard work put in by countless grass roots volunteers for over ten years to make North Carolina a healthier place to live and work,” said Frank Amend, Immediate Past Chair of the North Carolina American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee and heart attack survivor. “Unfortunately this law came too late for some, but it illustrates that a business/legislative partnership can improve the long term wellness of our fellow citizens.”

More information about the effects of secondhand smoke and the effects of smoking on heart attack risk can be found at www.heart.org.

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