STARKVILLE — A Mississippi State University study released Monday shows a 27 percent decrease in heart attacks among Starkville residents since the city passed its no-smoking ordinance in 2006.
The study by Robert McMillen and Dr. Robert Collins focused on Starkville residents in the three years since the city”s Board of Aldermen passed the indoor smoking ban compared to the three prior years. Oktibbeha County Hospital and North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo treated a combined 51 Starkville residents for heart attacks in the three years before the smoking ban was enacted, but only 37 in the three years since, the study revealed.
Researchers see a correlation between the no-smoking policy and the decrease in heart attacks.
“My response would be what else changed to cause it?” Collins said when asked if the smoking ban led to the decrease in heart attacks. “Less obesity? Better (blood pressure) control? Better eating habits? All of those are associated with long-term risk of heart attacks. Only cessation of smoking and smoke exposure has an immediate effect on heart attacks.”
Collins is director of University Health Services at MSU; McMillen is an assistant professor in the psychology department and researcher at MSU”s nationally recognized Social Science Research Center.
Their findings are part of a larger SSRC evaluation of Mississippi communities that passed smoking bans in recent years.
The MSU investigation also mirrors findings of a federally commissioned panel of scientists recently made public. Commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that report by the independent and non-profit Institute of Medicine examined information from 11 studies of communities in Canada, Italy, Scotland and the U.S.
The CDC/Institute of Medicine conclusion: Bans on smoking in public places reduces cases of heart attacks and heart disease.
“It”s important to realize that the reduction we observed in Starkville is not unique,” McMillen said Monday afternoon. “Similar reductions have been found in 11 other studies – and many of these studies were based on cities or regions with much larger populations. Taken as a whole, these studies have persuaded the Institute of Medicine that smoke-free laws do indeed (lead) to reductions in heart attacks.”
Looking elsewhere
In addition to Starkville, larger Mississippi communities with public-place smoking bans include Tupelo, Meridian, Hattiesburg, Greenwood, Grenada and Pontotoc. In all, some two dozen Magnolia State municipalities have bans, including the city of Aberdeen whose ban is outright, with no smoking inside or in the vicinity of any public building.
Nationwide, 17 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia ban smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces. Also, 14 other states and more than 350 cities and towns ban smoking in one or two of those types of establishments, according to the advocacy group Americans for Nonsmokers” Rights.
Former Starkville Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox, who was instrumental in pushing for the smoking ban in 2006, was pleased to see facts supporting the benefits of the no-smoking policy instead of just anecdotal evidence, such as comments from servers and patrons.
“Seeing these hard facts and data, I”m expecting policy makers around the state are going to look at this and take it much more seriously than they have in the past,” Cox said. “It”s no longer just an issue of Starkville trying to be a leading, healthy community, which is what we wanted. There appears to be significant health benefits for the community at large. Hopefully this will give policy makers around the state a chance to look at this and take it more seriously.”
Economic benefit
Collins, an MSU physician since 1977, said the 14 fewer heart attacks for local citizens over the past three years resulted in an estimated $750,000 not spent on heart attack aftercare, based on reports of the average financial costs for heart attacks.
Data from the Mississippi State Department of Health and national figures indicates the state would save an estimated $125 million annually in health care expenses if a legislatively mandated smoking ban was enacted, he added.
McMillen and Collins are recommending a statewide public ban on smoking.
“I plead with the Mississippi Legislature to ban smoking in public places,” Collins said. “Our data reflects the findings of every other community that has looked at what happened when smoking is banned in public venues.”
Roy Hart, director of the Office of Tobacco Control at the MSDH, also supports additional smoking bans in public places. He said enacting smoking restrictions is one of the simplest, healthiest and cost-effective “tobacco control strategies.”
“Smoking restrictions save lives, reduce health care costs and youth smoking initiation and encourage smokers to quit,” Hart said.
Anti-smoking advocacy groups in Mississippi, including chapters of the American Heart and American Stroke associations, long have supported efforts to ban smoking in public places throughout the state.
“Improving the health of Mississippians is the main reason that groups all across the state fight for comprehensive smoke-free laws,” said Katherine Bryant, public advocacy director for both Jackson-based organizations.
“The American Heart Association, along with other coalition partners, hopes our lawmakers realize how vital strong smoke-free laws are to the health of all Mississippians,” Bryant added.
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