Declines in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction in New York state after implementation of a comprehensive smoking ban.

Objectives: Reductions in exposure to environmental tobacco smoke have been shown to attenuate the risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined whether the 2003 implementation of a comprehensive smoking ban in New York State was associated with reduced hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction and stroke, beyond the effect of moderate, local and statewide smoking restrictions, and independent of secular trends.

Methods: We analyzed trends in county-level, age-adjusted, monthly hospital admission rates for acute myocardial infarction and stroke from 1995 to 2004 to identify any association between admission rates and implementation of the smoking ban.