Public
smoking bans linked with rapid fall in preterm births, child hospital visits
for asthma
The introduction of
laws banning smoking in public places and workplaces in North America and
Europe has been quickly followed by large drops in rates of preterm births and
children attending hospital for asthma, according to the first systematic
review and meta-analysis examining the effect of smoke-free legislation on
child health, published in The Lancet.
The analysis of 11 studies done in North America and Europe, involving more
than 2.5 million births, and nearly 250 000 asthma exacerbations, showed that
rates of both preterm births and hospital attendance for asthma were reduced by
10% within a year of smoke-free laws coming into effect.
After searching
systematically for both published and unpublished studies over 38 years
(1975-2013) reporting on the impact of public smoking restrictions on health
outcomes in children aged 12 years or younger, Dr Jasper Been from the
Maastricht University Medical Centre, in the Netherlands, and colleagues
identified 11 suitable studies -- five North American studies describing local
bans and six European studies looking at national bans.
"Our research
found significant reductions in preterm birth and severe asthma attacks in
childhood, as well as a 5% decline in children being born very small for
gestational age after the introduction of smoke-free laws," says Dr Been.
"Together with the
known health benefits in adults, our study provides clear evidence that smoking
bans have considerable public health benefits for perinatal and child health,
and provides strong support for WHO recommendations to create smoke-free public
environments on a national level."*
"This research has
demonstrated the very considerable potential that smoke-free legislation offers
to reduce preterm births and childhood asthma attacks," says study
co-author Professor Aziz Sheikh, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, USA, and the
University of Edinburgh, UK. "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."*
Writing in a linked
Comment, Sara Kalkhoran and Stanton Glantz from the University of California
San Francisco in the USA point out that, "Medical expenses for asthma
exceeded US$50 billion in the USA in 2007, and US$20 billion in Europe in 2006.
If asthma emergency department visits and admissions to hospital decreased by
even 10%, the savings in the USA and Europe together would be US$7 billion
annually."
They conclude,
"The cigarette companies, their allies, and the groups they sponsor have
long used claims of economic harm, particularly to restaurants, bars, and
casinos, to oppose smoke-free laws despite consistent evidence to the contrary.
By contrast, the rapid economic benefits that smoke-free laws and other tobacco
control policies bring in terms of reduced medical costs are real. Rarely can
such a simple intervention improve health and reduce medical costs so swiftly
and substantially."
Story Source:
The above story is
based on materials provided
by The Lancet. Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
Journal
Reference:
1.
Jasper Been et al. Effect
of smoke-free legislation on perinatal and child health: a systematic review
and meta-analysis. The
Lancet, March 2014 DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60082-9
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The Lancet. "Public
smoking bans linked with rapid fall in preterm births, child hospital visits
for asthma." Science Daily, 27
March 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140327222229.htm>.