Introduction: The harmful effects of first and secondhand smoking are well-established. Smoke-free laws aim at protecting nonsmokers. This study aimed to assess the impact of the 2013 total ban on indoor smoking in Chile on hospitalizations and deaths of major cardiovascular events.
Aims And Methods: The logarithm of the monthly hospitalization and death rates, standardized by age for every 100 000 inhabitants, were estimated for ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction, strokes, and a composite outcome of ischemic heart diseases (which includes acute myocardial infarction) and strokes. In addition, interrupted time series with synthetic control groups were used to assess changes in levels and trends after the intervention.
Results: The total ban on indoor smoking caused significant reductions in death rates for the three diseases studied for age groups above 20 years old. In addition, there were substantial decreases in the post-intervention hospitalization rates for ischemic heart disease: for the 20-44 age group, the decrease was 8.7% compared to the pre-intervention period (p < .01). In comparison, such a reduction was 4% (p < .01) for the ≥65 age group. For acute myocardial infarction, the decrease was 11.5% (p < .01) for the 20-44 age group, while for stroke, it was a 1.2% (p < .01) decrease for the total population. It is estimated that the smoking ban averted 15.6% of the deaths compared with the synthetic control groups.
Conclusions: The implementation of total smoke-free environments in Chile contributed to the reduction of mortality for main cardiovascular diseases. This study provides additional evidence of causality linking the policy to health outcomes.
Implications: The total indoor smoking ban significantly affected age-standardized hospitalization and deaths. The number of deaths averted by this policy is estimated at approximately 4758 and 5256 for IHD and stroke, respectively, during the 2013-2017 period (15.6% fewer deaths than predicted by the synthetic control groups). The study contributes to the body of evidence that supports total indoor smoking bans.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae045 | DOI Listing |
Int J Circumpolar Health
December 2025
Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Rates of respiratory tract infections for children living in remote First Nations communities in the Sioux Lookout Zone in Northwestern Ontario are elevated and associated with poor indoor environmental quality including high exposures to endotoxin and serious dampness and mould damage. The studies also revealed a high prevalence of cigarette smoking and most houses have wood stoves, of variable quality. Depending on structure, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are carcinogens, immunotoxins and/or inflammatory mediators that are byproducts of the incomplete combustion of organic materials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTob Use Insights
January 2025
College of Medicine, Hebron University, Hebron, Palestine.
Background: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure remains a critical public health concern, especially for adolescents, who are more susceptible to its harmful effects and may initiate smoking as a result. SHS, comprising both mainstream and sidestream smoke, contains over 7000 chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic. Adolescents exposed to SHS are more likely to experiment with smoking due to environmental influences, peer pressure, and familial smoking behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Paediatr
January 2025
Noda Children's Clinic, Kushima, Japan.
Aim: To investigate children's exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosols in the current era of new tobacco products.
Methods: A total of 200 children were recruited from among children who had undergone health checkups for 3-year-olds at the clinic. We investigated the smoking status of their families using a questionnaire and measured urinary cotinine concentrations in their children.
ACS EST Air
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States.
Wildfires at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) have been increasing in frequency over recent decades due to increased human development and shifting climatic patterns. The work presented here focuses on the impacts of a WUI fire on indoor air using field measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by Proton-Transfer-Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS). We found a slow decrease in VOC mixing ratios over the course of roughly 5 weeks starting 10 days after the fire, and those levels decreased to ∼20% of the initial indoor value on average.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Cancer
January 2025
Cancer Registry of Norway, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Pb 5313 Majorstuen, Oslo 0304, Norway. Electronic address:
Background: Targeting modifiable factors offers significant potential for primary cancer prevention. For public health strategies, it is essential to quantify the contribution from each factor on a national level. We estimated the contribution of 12 modifiable factors on cancer incidence in the Norwegian population.
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