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April 1, 2003 (Chicago) -- Anti-smoking groups have long contended that smoking bans can have a positive effect on public health, and now they have proof: When Helena, Mont., enacted a smoking ban in public buildings, there was a 60% drop in heart attack admissions at local hospitals.

"What surprised us was how quickly there was an impact from this ordinance," says Richard Sargent, MD, who presented the study at the American College of Cardiology's 52nd Annual Scientific Session. "Also interesting, we found that people from the surrounding area around Helena, where smoking was permitted, still had similar heart attack levels. I liken it to a doughnut. In the hole is smoke-free Helena. In the dough is high-smoke, high-heart-attack surrounding area."

"This striking finding suggests that protecting people from the toxins in secondhand smoke not only makes life more pleasant; it immediately starts saving lives," says co-author Stanton Glantz, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Cardiovascular Research Institute and a statistics authority. "This work substantially raises the stakes in debates over enacting and protecting smoke-free ordinances."

New York City: A study published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, reported that hotels and restaurants in New York City experienced increases in taxable sales revenue after the 1995 smokefree air act took effect. Furthermore, the sales at eating and drinking establishments in NYC went up as a percentage of both total sales in the city and total restaurant sales from New York State after the law was implemented. Researchers stated that, “Based on these data, it can be concluded that the smoke-free law did not harm the restaurant industry in New York City.” (Hyland, Cummings, and Nauenberg, “Analysis of Taxable Sales Receipts: Was New York City’s Smoke-Free Air Act Bad for Restaurant Business?” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, January