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Anorak News | Bad science links smoking ban to heart attacks in passive smokers

Bad science links smoking ban to heart attacks in passive smokers

by | 4th, February 2016

Survey of the day comes to us via the Telegraph, which has great news for non-smokers:

Smoking ban sees 40 per cent cut in heart attacks in UK since 2007 law was introduced

Did smoking cause 40% of heart attacks? We know smoking is bad for you. But really..?

Heart attack rates in the UK have fallen by up to 42 per cent since the 2007 smoking ban…

And then it gets really woolly:

A review of 77 studies found that reduced exposure to passive smoking has caused a “significant reduction” in heart problems across the population.

Did passive smoking lead to so many heart attacks? It turns out the researchers have no proof:

He [Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation] said the studies were observational and all had their limitations, but it would be difficult to study the effects of passive smoking in a more robust scientific way. Researchers said the evidence was less clear about whether the introduction of bans had actually helped people to give up smoking.

Heart attacks rates have been falling. Links between the smoking ban and heart attacks caused by passive smoking is nonsense.

 

falling

 

 



Posted: 4th, February 2016 | In: Broadsheets, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink