Richmond, Martinez win anti-smoking accolades

By Katherine Tam
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 09/24/2009 11:44:50 AM PDT

Updated: 09/24/2009 11:44:50 AM PDT

The cities of Richmond and Martinez have nabbed California Clean Air awards for passing comprehensive anti-smoking laws this year that limit secondhand smoke.

The laws bar tobacco smoking in public places such as parks, bus stops and where public events are held. Smoking is prohibited indoors where people congregate and work, including restaurants and the common areas of multiunit housing. It is also prohibited within 20 feet of doors, windows and vents leading to a place where smoking is banned.

Richmond took it a step further this summer when officials banned smoking in and around multiunit residences, where experts say secondhand smoke can seep through cracks and vents. This requirement goes into effect in 2011.

The awards are from the California Clean Air Project, which works on secondhand smoke issues statewide.

Reach Katherine Tam at 510-262-2787. Follow her on Twitter: @katherinetam.

Smoking Bans Cut Heart Attacks: Study

Public bans on puffing show immediate, dramatic results

Updated 4:30 AM PDT, Tue, Sep 22, 2009

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Smoking bans can cut heart attacks by as much as 36%, according to a new study likely to lead to more calls for prohibitions on puffing.

"This study adds to the already strong evidence that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100% smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public," James Lightwood of the University of California-San Francisco, whose study appears in the journal Circulation, said in a statement.

The team pooled data from 13 studies of smoking bans in communities in the United States, Canada and Europe. They said heart attack rates fall immediately after smoking bans are put in place, dropping by 17% in the first year and by as much as 36% after three years.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, long-term exposure to secondhand smoke can raise heart disease rates in adult nonsmokers by up to 30%. Secondhand smoke kills an estimated 46,000 Americans every year from heart disease alone, the CDC and Heart Association say. Smoking also causes several types of cancer, stroke and emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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