Smoke-free legislation was associated with substantially fewer hospitalizations and deaths from heart and respiratory（呼吸的） diseases, according to research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Researchers reviewed 45 studies covering 33 smoke-free laws at the local and state levels around the United States and from countries as varied¹ as Uruguay, New Zealand and Germany and found: 

 

"The public, health professionals and policy makers⁴ need to understand that including exemptions⁵ and loopholes in legislation -- such as exempting⁶ casinos -- condemns⁷ more people to end up in emergency rooms," said Stanton Glantz, Ph.D., senior study author and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. "These unnecessary hospitalizations are the real cost of failing to enact⁸ comprehensive smoke-free legislation."

 

The findings support the American Heart Association's position that smoke-free laws should be comprehensive and apply to all workplaces and public environments, including restaurants, bars and casinos. The analysis also is consistent with other studies that have found smoke-free laws were followed by significant decreases in acute heart attack and other cardiac（心脏的）-related hospital admissions.

 

"Stronger legislation means immediate⁹ reductions in secondhand smoke-related health problems as a byproduct（副产品） of reductions in secondhand smoke exposure and increases in smoking cessation that accompany these laws," Glantz said. "Passage of these laws formalize and accelerate social change and the associated immediate health benefits."

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