Fewer heart deaths as smoking declines

BOSTON, June 20 (UPI) -- After Massachusetts enacted smoking restrictions in 1993 coronary heart disease mortality declined 31 percent in 10 years, researchers said.

Lead author Dr. Zubair Kabir, who at the time of the study was a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, said smoking prevalence for the same period declined from 20.5 percent to 14.5 percent.

Kabir and colleagues examined data from daily smokers ages 25 to 84 and found that from 1993-2003, coronary heart disease mortality declined from 199 deaths to 137 deaths per 100,000 people each year.

Based on these results, the researchers calculated that 425 fewer coronary heart disease deaths were attributable to decreased smoking during the 10-year period. They concluded that expanding comprehensive tobacco control programs to other states could avoid more tobacco-related disease deaths.

The study appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health.