Ban on Smoking in Public Housing Reduced Cardiovascular Hospitalizations: Study

A new study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that the 2018 U.S. ban on smoking in public housing led to a decrease in hospitalizations for cardiovascular problems.

Researchers here examined the impact of the smoke-free policy on hospitalization outcomes for heart attacks and strokes among adults over 50 by comparing hospitalization trends among New York City public housing residents to a matched-comparison population in New York City. The study included only adults aged over 50 because heart disease risk increases substantially as adults enter their 50s.

The investigation found modest declines in heart attacks incidence rates (from 1.7% of residents to 1.1%). It also found small differential declines in strokes (from 1.9% to 1.3%). Hospitalization rates for both heart attacks and strokes in older public housing occupants trended downwards from before to 54 months after the smoking ban.

“Housing remains a focal setting for interventions aimed to reduce adverse health events that may be associated with exposure to secondhand smoke,” said the paper’s lead author, Elle Anastasiou Pesante. “These results are promising, and going forward, we are eager to understand longer term impacts of smoke free policies on cardiovascular and other chronic conditions, particularly among older adults who reside in public housing settings.”