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ED visits for AMI, Stroke, ACS & COPD after the Statewide Smoking Ban in Cook Co., IL

Description

Tobacco use is the leading global cause of preventable death, killing more than five million people per year. In addition, exposure to secondhand smoke is estimated to kill an additional 600,000 people globally each year. In 1986, the US Surgeon General’s Report declared secondhand smoke to be a cause of lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers. The first law restricting smoking in public places was enacted in 1973 in Arizona that followed the 1972 Surgeon General’s Report providing awareness of the negative health effects associated with the exposure to air pollution from tobacco smoke. Smoke-free laws were slowly enacted after this time point with most occurring after the year 2000. In July 2007, the Smoke Free Illinois Act (SB0500, Public Act 095-0017) was passed in IL. The ban went into effect on Jan 1, 2008 and Illinois joined 22 other states in prohibiting smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, schools, commercial establishments, retail stores, bars, private clubs, and gaming facilities. While many studies have examined the effect of smoking bans on hospitalizations, this study would be the first to examine the effect of the comprehensive smoking ban in IL on ED visits by utilizing chronic disease categories created with ED chief complaint data captured by syndromic surveillance. The author hypothesizes that the comprehensive smoking ban in IL significantly reduced the ED visits associated with AMI, ACS, stroke, and COPD in adults in Cook County, IL.

Objective:

To utilize ED chief complaint data obtained from syndromic surveillance to quantify the effect of the Illinois smoking ban on acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) related ED visits in adults in Cook County, IL.

Submitted by elamb on