Implications of a public smoking ban.
OBJECTIVE
Legislation to ban smoking in public places is currently a major area of interest across Canada. The main objectives of the study were to 1) determine the effect of the smoking ban on incidence of acute myocardial infarction, 2) determine if the new legislation altered population-based smoking prevalence, and 3) measure public support for the public smoking ban.


METHODS
The city of Saskatoon initiated a public smoking ban on July 1, 2004. We retrospectively reviewed all hospital discharges for acute MI from July 2000 to June 2005. We reviewed CCHS survey information on smoking prevalence for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Canada from 2003 to 2005. We prospectively contacted 1,255 Saskatoon residents by telephone to determine support for the public smoking ban.


RESULTS
The age-standardized incidence rate of acute MI fell from 176.1 (95% CI 165.3-186.8) cases per 100,000 population (July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2004) to 152.4 (95% CI 135.3-169.3) cases per 100,000 population (July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005). Smoking prevalence in Saskatoon fell from 24.1% in 2003 (95% CI 20.4-27.7) to 18.2% in 2005 (95% CI 15.7-20.9) while smoking prevalence in Saskatchewan remained unchanged at 23.8% (95% CI 22.6-25.3) and Canada reduced from 22.9% (95% CI 22.5-23.3) to 21.3% (95% CI 20.8-21.8). Seventy-nine percent of Saskatoon residents believed the smoking ban was a good idea.


CONCLUSIONS
The public smoking ban in Saskatoon, Canada, is associated with reduced incidence rates of acute MI, lower smoking prevalence and high levels of public support.
Lemstra
Mark
M
Saskatoon Health Region mark.lemstra@saskatoonhealthregion.ca
Neudorf
Cory
C
Opondo
Johnmark
J
D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012525:Saskatchewan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution