Workplace smoking bans improve children's health, apparently
Friday, March 28, 2014 at 7:20 The media is reporting the results of 'new' research by tobacco control.
According to BBC News, Smoking bans cut asthma and premature births by 10%, study says.
The report is based on a press release issued by The Lancet:
The introduction of laws banning smoking in public places and workplaces in North America and Europe has been quickly followed by large drops in rates of preterm births and children attending hospital for asthma, according to the first systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of smoke-free legislation on child health, published in The Lancet.
The analysis of 11 studies done in North America and Europe, involving more than 2.5 million births, and nearly 250 000 asthma exacerbations, showed that rates of both preterm births and hospital attendance for asthma were reduced by 10% within a year of smoke-free laws coming into effect.
An edited version of Forest's response is included in the BBC report. Here it is in full:
"The researchers appear to have reached their conclusions by cherry-picking eleven studies to generate a highly questionable meta-analysis.
"The report suggests there has been a significant reduction in cases of childhood asthma in countries or states that have introduced comprehensive smoking bans.
"If children are exposed to second hand smoke it is mostly in the home so workplace smoking bans would have little or no impact on children.
"If the report is suggesting that environmental tobacco smoke is the only or principal cause of childhood asthma that's ridiculous.
"In the UK the number of people suffering from asthma has tripled in the last 40 years. During that same period the number of people who smoke has halved and today relatively few children are exposed to tobacco smoke in confined spaces such as homes and cars.
"Calling for more countries to introduce comprehensive smoke-free legislation is a gross over-reaction and makes little sense."
Forest is also being quoted on Radio 4's Today programme. Well, I say quoted. Our response was distilled to:
The smokers' group Forest said the study was "highly questionable".
Better than nothing, I suppose.
Reader Comments (3)
Yeah right - and smoking outside makes the moon turn to cheese no doubt.
It is quite amazing that they cherry-pick results like that, especially since the truth is, at least in UK and Denmark, that hospital admissions have spiked after the smoking bans in these countries.
According to UK health statistics, quoted in comments at the Friends of Forest Facebook-site, the increase in total hospital admissions doubled in the six years after the British smoking ban compared to the the corresponding period before the ban:
Total public health failure: Smoking related diseases up 20% since Danish smoking ban
In Denmark total admissions rose 13% in the six years after the ban (compared to 6,5% in the six years before the ban) and admissions regarding "smoking related" diseases (including asthma) increased 20% in the six-year period after the ban compared to 12% before the ban. (access link through the above link to Friends of Forest).
No one claims that the smoking ban caused all the extra admissions, but at least the figures show quite firmly that smoking bans did not reduce disease, especially not "smoking related" diseases. On the contrary - they rose.
Sorry - the above mentioned link is here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/forest.smoking/permalink/10151934289007721/?stream_ref=2