Local hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions dropped by between 30% and 40% after restaurants in Toronto, Canada, implemented a smoking ban, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

To determine the effectiveness of the smoking ban, researchers from the University of Toronto analyzed admission rates at Toronto hospitals between January 1996 and March 2006, a period that covered three years before the smoking ban was implemented and two years after the final phase of implementation. Specifically, the researchers identified hospitalizations for three cardiovascular conditions (myocardial infarction (MI), angina and stroke) and three respiratory conditions (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia or bronchitis). The researchers also tracked three gastrointestinal conditions and assessed hospitalizations in communities without smoking bans to serve as controls.

Across the 10-year study, the researchers found that crude rates of admission for the cardiovascular and respiratory conditions dropped by 39% and 33%, respectively. However, implementation of smoking bans in other settings did not affect hospital admission rates, according to MedPage Today.

The researchers did not find any significant changes in hospital admissions for cardiovascular, respiratory or the three control conditions in communities without a smoking ban.

Although the study cannot prove that smoking bans caused hospital admissions to drop, the researchers say the findings reinforce the “value” of such bans and legitimize legislative efforts to further reduce exposure to secondhand smoke (Naiman et al., Canadian Medical Association Journal, 4/12; Bankhead, MedPage Today, 4/12; Kennedy, Toronto Star, 4/13).