Importance of Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
WASHINGTON, – The American Heart Association
supports a new national study which found that smoking bans are effective at
reducing the risk of acute cardiac events such as heart attacks associated
with exposure to secondhand smoke.
“This report makes it increasingly clear that smoke-free policies are having a
positive impact in reducing the heart attack rate in many communities,” said
Clyde Yancy, M.D., American Heart Association President. “There’s no question
that secondhand smoke has an adverse health impact in workplaces and public
environments. We must continue to enact comprehensive smoke-free laws across
the country to save lives and reduce the number of new smokers.”
The Institute of Medicine report, “Secondhand Smoke Exposure and
Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence,” sponsored by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests the strength of
association between secondhand smoke and acute coronary events is compelling
and provides evidence showing a cause-and-effect relationship between
secondhand smoke exposure and heart problems.
The findings also confirm 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.” Nearly 440,000 Americans
die each year of smoking-related illnesses and about 38,000 of these deaths
are from second-hand smoke. About 35 percent of those deaths are related to
cardiovascular disease.
“More Americans are trying to limit their exposure to secondhand smoke to
improve their health and reduce the burden of healthcare costs related to
tobacco use,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association.
“Smoke-free policies will make a huge dent in the $10 billion spent annually
on healthcare costs associated with exposure to secondhand smoke.” Currently,
70 percent of the nation has smoke-free laws for workplaces, restaurants or
bars.
The American Heart Association supports strong public health measures that
will reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke across the United
States. These policy priorities include federal regulation of the tobacco
industry, adequate funding for tobacco cessation and prevention programs,
comprehensive smoke free air laws and taxation of tobacco products. The
association believes that smoke free laws should be comprehensive and apply to
all workplaces and public environments and there should be no preemption of
local ordinances, and no exemptions for hardship, opting out, or ventilation.
Visit www.americanheart.org.
American Heart Association Media Advisory
Contact: Suzanne Ffolkes: 202-785-7929, suzanne.ffolkes@heart.org
Maggie Francis: 214-706-1382, maggie.francis@heart.org
October 15, 2009
IOM Report on Secondhand-Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making
Sense of the Evidence
WHAT:
Exposure to secondhand smoke causes up to 75,000 coronary heart disease deaths
annually. Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke, such as that occurring in a
home or workplace, is associated with a 25 – 30 percent increased risk for
coronary heart disease in adult nonsmokers.
Elizabeth Ross, MD, American Heart Association spokesperson
Cardiologist, Washington Hospital Center
David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., American Heart Association spokesperson
Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention and Professor of Public
Health Sciences and Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine
They are available for interviews to discuss the link between secondhand smoke
and cardiovascular diseases and policy initiatives that contribute to a
reduction in coronary heart disease rates and hospital admissions. To
schedule an interview, contact Suzanne Ffolkes at 202-785-7929,
suzanne.ffolkes@heart.org or Maggie Francis at 214-706-1382,
maggie.francis@heart.org.
About the American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association today is the nation’s oldest
and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier
lives, free of heart disease and stroke. These diseases, America’s No. 1 and
No. 3 killers, and all other cardiovascular diseases claim nearly 870,000
lives a year. To learn more, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.
SOURCE American Heart Association
Suzanne Ffolkes of American heart Association, +1-202-785-7929
