12 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
CITY ORDINANCES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2004
Smoking ban leads to healthier heart
Study emphasizes health risks of public smoking
By Julie Jones
jjones@kansan.com
Kansan staff reporter
Studies show that the implementation of smoking bans can decrease heart attacks, lung cancer and the number of smokers.
In Helena, Mont., researchers found that the number of heart attacks decreased during the six months a smoking ban was in effect.
Researchers at St. Peter's Community Hospital analyzed hospital charts of patients admitted-for heart attacks from December 1997 to November 2003.
The number of heart attacks fell to 24 total admissions during the months the law was enforced.
The average number of admissions for the same months before and after the ban was 40.
"We saw a rapid drop in heart attacks,"
said Richard Sargent, attending physician and researcher. "Then magically in December, they went back up and pretty much stayed the same."
Sargent said that thirty minutes in a smoky environment doubled the risk of a heart attack for the following 48 hours, and that working for eight hours in a smoke-filled bar was the equivalent to smoking a pack a day.
Those at risk for heart disease should stay away from smoky environments. Sargent said this was problematic because "most people don't know they're at risk for heart disease until their first heart attack."
The smoking ban would help to eliminate these risks, as well as lung cancer and respiratory problems, according to health expects.
Only 15 percent of a cigarette reaches a smoker's lungs, Smith said. Eighty-five percent of the cigarette is exhausted into the atmosphere.
"Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S." said Melissa Smith, Watkins health education director.
SEE HEALTH ON NEXT PAGE
BAN: Enforcement may take time
Barr said it was hard to say when he would start writing tickets or exactly which situations would be cause for an individual to be fined. He said his initial task was educating people.
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The department would depend on complaints received for ordinance enforcement. Complainants could be asked to be a witness to the violation.
Barr said witnesses would help in any case where a person denied an incident but weren't entirely necessary.
Subsequent complaints of violations on a certain business would make an appearance at the Lawrence Municipal Court more likely.
The possibility of the ordinance becoming a public referendum may create a grev area for the public, he said.
"People's perception may be, 'Yeah, it's a law, but it may be taken away in November, so I'll just go ahead and smoke anyway.'" Barr said.
He doubted the law would be overturned and expected the first few months
Photo illustration by Courtney Kuhlon
of the ban to be busy.
"I think people and businesses will get used to it," he said. "It will become a normal part of living in Lawrence."
— Edited by Joe Burke