YESSS! Thank you, Phyllis - and Louisiana Supreme Court! Ban the smoking!
Andy Driscoll Saint Paul -- on 4/23/04 10:32 AM, Phyllis Kahn wrote: > I know why we can't pass a state wide smoking ban. To start we can't get > the bills heard by Republican committee chairs. But I don't understand > what is stopping the city of Minneapolis. Do we really need to fall > behind not just New York City and Austin, Texas but Lexington, Kentucky? > Here is a copy of the relevant article. > > This article from the Star Tribune has been sent to you by Phyllis > Kahn. > > BYLINE: Marc Kaufman > CREDITLINE: Washington Post > HEADLINE: Smoke raises heart attack risk, CDC says > > > WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control > and Prevention (CDC) is warning people at risk of heart disease to avoid > buildings and gathering places that allow indoor smoking. > In commentary to a study in the British Medical Journal released > Thursday, the CDC said doctors should advise people with heart problems > that secondhand smoke can significantly increase their risk of a heart > attack. The agency said that as little as 30 minutes' exposure can have > a serious and even lethal effect. > The commentary accompanied a study showing that the number of heart > attacks in Helena, Mont., decreased substantially after the city banned > indoor smoking. > The number quickly returned to its former level after the law was > struck down in court. > That study found that, during the six months in 2002 when the ban was > in effect, the number of heart attacks reported by Helena's single heart > hospital fell by 40 percent. > In his commentary, Terry Pechacek, associate director of science at > CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, wrote that the research underscores > evidence that secondhand smoke rapidly increases the tendency of blood > to clot, which can restrict flow to the heart. > Pechacek said the new study strengthens the growing body of research > pointing to potentially fast and acute reactions to secondhand smoke, in > addition to the long-term damage to nonsmokers who live with smokers. > The CDC has estimated that secondhand smoke causes 35,000 heart disease > deaths a year in the United States, but Pechacek said that estimate is > likely to be revised upward. > "We've said before that secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart > disease in nonsmokers, but this is our first recommendation that > clinicians advise their patients with heart disease to avoid indoor > settings where smoking is allowed," he said. > "We don't make these kind of statements lightly," he said. "What we are > seeing in the data is a substantial biological change that occurs with > even 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke." > Bans disputed > The new recommendation is bound to become part of the often acrimonious > national debate over whether smoking in public places should be banned. > Public health advocates say the bans will save many lives, while > cigarette makers and some businesspeople say the decision should be left > to individual choice. > Just Thursday, the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld a ban on smoking in > bars, restaurants and other public places in Lexington, ruling that the > city had acted within its authority to "promote and safeguard public > health." That ban has drawn national attention because Kentucky has the > highest smoking rate in the nation -- about one third of adults there > are smokers, according to the CDC -- and is the second-largest producer > of tobacco. > As both the CDC and authors of the new study acknowledge, the Montana > data are limited by the relatively small number of people involved. > Pechacek said that similarly dramatic reductions in heart attacks are > unlikely to be found in larger populations, but he said the study is > nonetheless important because it offers the best real-world information > to date on the connection between indoor smoking and serious heart > problems. He said studies have been proposed or begun into the how > indoor smoking bans in California, New York City and Delaware have > affected heart attack rates. > The CDC study's authors, Richard Sargent and Robert Shepard of St. > Peter's Community Hospital in Helena, and Stanton Glantz of the > University of California, San Francisco, collected information about the > number of heart attacks from St. Peter's hospital records. > During the six-month period in 2002 when the indoor smoking ban was in > effect, 24 Helena residents suffered acute heart attacks. For the five > years before and after 2002, the average number of heart attacks > reported for Helena residents during the same six months was 40. The > authors found through St. Peter's records that the number of heart > attacks suffered by people living in the area outside Helena -- where > there was no smoking ban -- did not experience the same 2002 dip as > Helena. > Of the patients followed in the study, 38 percent were current smokers, > 29 percent were former smokers and 33 had never smoked. > > > Phyllis Kahn, District 59B > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
