Smoking Ban Improves Asthma Rates in Children

In Scotland, asthma hospital admission rates in children have dropped 18% per year since the smoking ban was instituted in 2006.

In March 2006, Scotland banned smoking in enclosed public places, including restaurants and pubs. Investigators used a national database to tally all asthma hospital admissions for children younger than 15 years in Scotland between January 2000 and October 2009.

Before the smoking ban, admission rates for asthma in children increased by a mean of 5.2% per year. After the ban, the annual rate declined by 18.2% relative to the rate in March 2006. In adjusted analyses, rates of decline were similar among preschool (–18.4%) and school-age (–20.8%) children.

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Smoking Ban Improves Asthma Rates in Children

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Reviewing Author