An annual 5% drop in hospital admissions for asthma patients in
England requiring treatment could be attributed to the introduction of
the 2007 smoking ban, which made it illegal to smoke in all enclosed
public places such as restaurants, nightclubs, bars and shopping
centres.
The 5% drop basically means that there are around 1900 fewer
asthma-related admissions every year, say the authors of a new study who
looked at the number of emergency asthma admissions for adults aged 16
and above in England between the duration of April 1997 and December
2010. Affecting roughly 5.9% of the population, the prevalence of asthma
in England stands at one of the largest in the world.
For the study, published in the journal Thorax,
Researchers based at the University of Bath discovered that there were a
total of 502,000 ‘emergency’ hospital visits due to asthma in this time
frame. Unsurprisingly, with cold weather being a trigger for symptoms
to flare up, more admissions were evident throughout winter months
compared to the summer; however numbers of admissions vastly differed
depending on the area of the country.
Researchers took into account factors such as varying seasonal
temperatures, differences in population size, and long-term patterns in
regards to the prevalence of asthma. After considering all of the
aforementioned factors, they discovered that emergency admissions for
adults with asthma decreased by 4.9% during each of the first three
years after the 2007 smoking ban, with a similar percentage decline in
all geographical regions of England.
Dr Michelle Sims, author of the paper, said the benefits of the
anti-smoking legislation were clear to see, commenting: “Secondhand
smoke exposure has significant adverse health effects on the adult
respiratory system with current evidence suggesting that it contributes
to the onset and exacerbation of asthma. There is already evidence that
smoke free legislation in England is associated with reductions in
second hand smoke exposure among non-smoking adults and fewer emergency
hospital admissions for heart attacks and childhood asthma. Our findings
show that these health benefits extend to adult asthma.”
Emily Humphreys, head of policy and public affairs at the charity
Asthma UK, said: “Eight out of 10 people with asthma tell us that other
people’s smoke makes their asthma worse. That’s why we campaigned for
the smoke-free laws and are delighted to see evidence of the benefits
these are having on the millions of people with asthma in England. By
taking action to reduce asthma triggers, we can prevent asthma attacks
that can lead to hospitalisation and even death. However, more still
needs to be done to prevent attacks, which kill three people each day in
the UK.”
This new study is interesting and certainly highlights how cigarette
smoke and asthma can be strongly connected. The findings follow that of a
separate study which Medical Specialists Pharmacy reported back in January.
Conducted by a team at Imperial College London, that particular study
looked at admission rates spanning back to April 2002 and found an
incredible 12% decline in childhood asthma hospital admissions during
the first 12 months after the ban. This was calculated by taking into
account a predicted 2.2% rise annually – and a decline continued in
subsequent years with 3.4% fall per year for the next two years.
Asthma is a serious condition that is only worsened by exposure to
cigarette smoke. Medical Specialists Pharmacy advise you to immediately
quit smoking if you or a loved one also suffers from asthma, and we are
able to help you achieve this with the aid of the smoking cessation
medication Champix.
Champix mimics the effect of nicotine on the body, reducing the urge
to smoke and relieving withdrawal symptoms. It can also decrease the
enjoyment you experience of smoking if you are still smoking whilst on
the treatment. The medication equates to just £75.00 per pack –
inexpensive compared to an estimated £2,555 you can save each year by
quitting smoking!
Alternatively, visit the ‘Asthma and Allergies’
area of the Medical Specialists website for a full list of all the
preventer and reliever inhalers we provide for suitable patients.
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