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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
KLKNTV.com (Lincoln) Nebraska jumped on the smoking ban bandwagon in June, joining 31 other states with bans. A study came out Tuesday showing that states with smoking bans have seen a huge drop in heart attacks. Henry Thorberg is a former smoker and narrowly avoided a heart attack last November. He tries to go to the cardio rehab lab in St. Elizabeth's Regional Medical Center about five times a week. Thorberg says, "I didn't think anything was wrong. One day I just ran out of breath. They figured within 24 hours, I would have had a heart attack. So, I had double bypass surgery." As he works to keep his heart strong, there's good heart health news for people in places with smoking bans. New studies show in the first year with a smoking ban, heart attacks decrease by 17%. Every additional year without people lighting up in public, heart attacks go down 26%. For doctors at St. Elizabeth's, the study proof of what they've long known. Dr. Cary Ward is the Chief Medical Officer at St. Elizabeth's. "I feel this is a real validation for what we'd hoped would happen." Dr. Ward pushed for the ban in Nebraska even as some businesses questioned their livelihood. He says, "most importantly, we have lives saved and good evidence decreased risk of heart disease." The American College of Cardiology and The American Heart Association found 24 cities with resounding results: less smoke means less heart disease. Doing the math, Dr. Ward says that would save about 200 lives a year in Lincoln alone. Lives like Henry Thorberg, who's never had more reason to get on board with the ban. "Everybody should do what they can to avoid heart surgery." Because bans are relatively new in many states, including Nebraska, Dr. Ward said he hopes in the next five years, studies will also show a drop in strokes, lung cancer and other smoking related diseases. http://www.klkntv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11180648
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