The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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    Smoking bans fail to lower heart attack risk

    Declines in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction following smoke-free ordinances have been reported in smaller communities.

    Researchers at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, looked at the effect in 6 US states.

    First, the details.

    • The mortality rate for heart attacks among people at least 45 years of age during the 3 years before adoption of the smoke-free ordinance (the expected rate) was compared with the rate observed in the first full year after the ban (the target year) in 6 US states.
    • Target-year declines were also compared to those in states without smoking bans.

    And, the results.

    • Declines in heart attack mortality in California (2%), Utah (8%) and Delaware (8%) were not significantly different from the expected declines.
    • The South Dakota heart attack mortality rate increased 9%, a significant difference from the 3 years before adoption of the law.
    • Both a 9% decline in Florida and a 12% decline in New York significantly exceeded the expected declines but were not significantly different from the 10% decline that year in the 44 states without bans.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Smoke-free ordinances provide a healthy indoor environment, but their implementation in 6 states had little or no immediate measurable effect on acute myocardial infarction mortality.”

    9/15/11 20:32 JR

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