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Stricter smoking regulations resulted in fewer asthma hospitalizations
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The introduction of laws that banned smoking in enclosed public places in England led to a 12.3% decrease in asthma attacks there, according to study findings published online.
Christopher Millett, MD, of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, and colleagues looked at data on a set of children aged 14 years and younger who were seen at an ED for asthma from April 2002 to November 2010.
Before a ban on smoking took effect in July 2007, hospital admissions for children having severe asthma attacks were increasing by about 2%, peaking at 26,969 in 2006-2007. However, there were 6,802 fewer hospital admissions in the first 3 years after the ban, the researchers said.
“There is already evidence that eliminating smoking from public places has resulted in substantial population health benefits ... and this study shows that those benefits extend to ... childhood asthma,” Millett said in a statement.
Asthma affects one in every 11 children in the United Kingdom.
Disclosure: Millett receives funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care scheme.
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