The evidence comes from a study of two hospitals in Pueblo, Colorado, after that city implemented a ban on smoking on July 1, 2003. Over the following 18 months, rates of hospitalization for heart attacks dropped by 27 percent. The latest report shows they went on falling. Three years after the ban on smoking, rates of hospitalization for heart attacks had dropped by 41 percent. Before the ban went into effect, the rate of heart attacks treated at hospitals stood at 257 per 100,000 people. After three years, it fell to just 152 per 100,000.

To confirm that the smoking ordinance was responsible, researchers looked at two neighboring areas that did not have smoke-free regulations–the area of Pueblo County outside the city limits of Pueblo and El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs. Neither registered a decline in hospitalizations for heart attacks.

Although the decline can be partly attributed to smokers kicking the habit, the research team gave most of the credit to a reduction in secondhand smoke exposure. An editorial that accompanies the findings, published in the MMWR on January 2, 2009, points out that eight other published studies have linked smoke-free laws to rapid reductions in heart attacks. Three found that the reductions were most dramatic among nonsmokers. For example, one study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008 found a 21 percent drop in hospitalizations for acute coronary syndrome among people who never smoked, compared to 19 percent in former smokers and 14 percent in current smokers.

The good news for nonsmokers comes at a time of new concern about “third-hand” smoke–the potentially toxic effects of residues from cigarette smoke that settle onto clothing, carpets, cushions, and other surfaces. An article in the current issue of Pediatrics warns that third-hand smoke contains a slew of toxins, including carcinogens, lead, and even radioactive polonium-210. Unfortunately, parents who are aware that second-hand smoke can harm infants and children are often unaware of the very real hazards the residue left behind can pose.

New concerns about third-hand smoke may encourage even more non-smoking ordinances. Everyone, the latest findings show, will be healthier.

Tags: cigarette residues, hospitalized heart attacks, second-hand smoke, smoke-free, smoking, third-hand smoke