A new study, published in the January 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that the incidence of passive smoking has decreased, on average, by about 25 to 30 percent in the United States. Cases of coronary heart disease (CHD), directly associated with passive smoking, have also dropped considerably, as new policies prevented smokers from polluting public places with cigarettes.

 

"Exposure to passive smoking has been reduced by 25% to 40%, and its burden has been reduced by between 25% and 30% over the last 8 years, but the burden remains substantial. The future burden of passive smoking may be driven mainly by political and legal processes to ban smoking in public areas and the workplace as well as campaigns to encourage smoke-free homes," University of California Department of Clinical Pharmacy researcher James M. Lightwood, PhD, one of the authors of the study, says.

 

The data they collected was so promising, that they led researchers to even promote changes to the CHD Policy Model, a computer simulation that analyzes the prevalence, mortality and incidence of coronary heart disease in people above 35 years of age. Several major national studies, such as the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey (NHANES) and the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), were used to gather even more information on passive smoking.

 

The authors say that, by reducing passive smoking even more, the morbidity currently associated with inhaling tobacco smoke could be reduced significantly. From 1999 to 2000, statistics show that between 21,800 and 75,100 deaths were directly linked to CHD caused by inhaling smoke, while some 38,100 to 128,900 deaths were caused by myocardial infarctions, also triggered by passive smoking.

 

A further 25 percent of all medical conditions associated with involuntary smoking could be prevented, University of California researchers say, if other limitations or bans to smoking are set in place, such as no smoking in public areas or in the workplace. Promoting smoke-free homes may also prove to be very effective in reducing the number of smokers, especially if parents are made aware of the impact smoke has on their children.