Smoke-free law decreases asthma visits to ER by 22%

Second-hand tobacco smoke increases the risk for the development and severity of asthma among both adults and children.

The study assessed the Emergency department (ED) visits for asthma before and after the implementation of smoke-free legislation in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky during a period of 5 years.

Adjusting for seasonality, ED visits for asthma declined 22% from pre-law to post-law for all age groups.

Study: When household members smoked, children had up to 70% higher risk of wheezing through age 4  http://goo.gl/bTTyy

References:

Reduction in asthma-related emergency department visits after implementation of a smoke-free law. Rayens MK, Burkhart PV, Zhang M, Lee S, Moser DK, Mannino D, Hahn EJ. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008 Aug 9.

Worldwide, 40% of children, 33% of male non-smokers, 35% of female non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke http://goo.gl/xFGef
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