1. A study by the PIRE Public Services Research Institute says that California’s current strict anti-smoking laws will have saved more than 50,000 lives by 2010.
2. United Kingdom’s ban on smoking in public places reduces passive smoke effects, which are linked to loss of life for more than 11,000 people every year.
3. Thanks to the country’s smoking ban, Wales expects to avert an estimated 400 premature deaths of non-smokers annually.
4. Even people age 65 and over enjoy health benefits when they quit smoking, with overall mortality risk decreased by almost 20% and from lung cancer by 42%.
5. More than 15,000 Scots quit the nicotine habit during the first year of the country’s smoking ban.
6. 80% of Irish who have quit smoking since the ban say the smoking ban helped them; 88% said the ban helped them remain smoke-free.
7. Less than two months into England’s smoking ban in public places, over half of smokers surveyed said that had cut down on the number of cigarettes smoked.
8. In New Zealand, laws creating smoke free environments are achieving their goals of reducing dangers of second hand smoke and are expected to reduce health costs, work absenteeism, hospitalizations and tobacco-related deaths.
9. In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that sales of tobacco to underage youth have reached all time lows in all 50 states.
10. Following the ban on smoking in public places in England, the sales of cigarettes plummeted 11.6% in on month.
11. USA’s New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that teen smoking rates had decreased 50% over the last six years, eventually preventing 8,000 premature deaths.
12. The number of young smokers aged 18 to 29 has fallen by 30% in Victoria, Australia, thanks to smoking bans in pubs and clubs.
13. The USA’s New Jersey Smoke-free Air Act encourages smokers to quit as there is less opportunity and less temptation to smoke.
14. Counseling and self-help programs that last for more than a month can help people with heart disease quit smoking, according to a review of published studies.
15. Smoking rates in Japan have been declining since 1996, reaching an all time low this year.
16. In the US, California’s anti-tobacco program has seen a 33% decline in smoking since the campaign began in 1988.

SMOKING BANS mean decreases in Acute Coronary Syndrome

1. A study reported by the American Heart Association showed that heart attack rates in Pueblo, Colorado, USA declined 27% after a smoking ban in public places was enacted, while the neighboring county with no ban experienced no change in heart attack rates.
2. Rome, Italy experienced an 11.2% decrease in acute coronary events in the first year after a smoking ban in public places went into effect.
3. Just one year after the ban on public smoking went into effect in Ireland, the incidence of acute coronary syndrome went down 11%.
4. The number of non-smokers to experience heart attacks reduced by more than two thirds after a smoking ban went into effect in Monroe County, Indiana, USA.
5. Scientists at the University of Glasgow reported that heart attacks have dropped by 17% in Scotland since smoking was banned in public last year.
6. Israeli researchers report that for people who are able to stop smoking, the increased risk of sudden cardiac death seems to disappear immediately.
7. The Medical Research Council in Norfolk, UK shows that exercising, drinking less alcohol, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and not smoking can extend life expectancy by 14 years.
8. The National Sanitary Institute in France announced a significant decrease in heart attack rates following the country’s smoking ban, with benefits also noted for decrease in second-hand smoke inhalation effects.
9. New York, USA experienced an 8% decline in hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction after a comprehensive smoking ban, which translates into healthcare savings of US$56 million in one year.
10. Hospital admissions for acute heart attack in people under 60 fell by 11% in the Piedmont region of Italy after the introduction of a ban on smoking in indoor public places.

SMOKING BANS mean Better Health

1. Data from the National Population Health Survey shows those who smoke have higher rates of chronic conditions such as bronchitis, asthma and high blood pressure.
2. In a study by the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, smokers were twice as likely to develop polyps in the colon, especially those that are more likely to progress to cancer.
3. Smokers and those exposed to second hand smoke develop colon cancer about 7 years earlier than nonsmokers.
4. Women who smoke and have a specific genetic makeup are at significant risk for the development of breast cancer according to a study published by the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
5. Non-smokers have a higher chance of keeping their teeth into old age than those who smoke.
6. To protect the health and safety of travelers, Bulgaria bans smoking on all trains.
7. According to a recent US study, those who stop smoking experience increased deep sleep cycles, thus improving their sleep quality.

SMOKING BANS mean Healthier Children

1. 700 million children - almost half the world's children - breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.
2. An authoritative study, published by Bristol University's Institute of Child Life and Health, says that the babies of women who smoke during pregnancy are 4 times as likely to suffer Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
3. A McMaster University Study correlates smoking during pregnancy and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
4. Research from Michigan State University in the USA and The David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre in the UK show that the smoking habits of mothers during pregnancy increase asthma risks in some children.
5. A Yale University study shows that teenagers who smoke, or whose mothers smoked in pregnancy, have a higher risk of hearing problems and more trouble understanding what is being said.
6. A California, USA study found that smoke toxins in cars can reach levels twice those previously believed and 60 times greater than those found in smoke-free homes. California has banned smoking in cars with children as passengers.
7. Smoking and alcohol can damage sperm, passing on altered genes to babies.
8. Dr. Shakira Franco Suglia of the Harvard School of Public Health reported that children living in neighborhoods with high levels of air pollution, or who were affected by parental smoking, scored lower on memory and intelligence tests than children living in places with clean air.
9. Children regularly exposed to secondhand smoke have more than triple the risk of lung cancer as well as higher risks of other respiratory problems later in life.

SMOKING BANS means better Working Environments

1. Within only two months of the smoking ban in Scotland, bar workers reported almost 33% less respiratory and other illnesses.
2. Non-smoking barmen in Ireland reported statistically significant improvements in measured pulmonary function tests and significant reductions in self-reported symptoms.
3. Restaurant workers exposed to tobacco smoke on the job were more likely to have a detectable level of the potent carcinogenic NNK than those who were not.
4. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke have a 20% higher risk of lung cancer.
5. The number of staff exposed to harmful levels of second hand smoke fell by 95% after the smoking ban in Scotland.
6. A ban on smoking in public places in Ireland saw an 83% reduction in air pollution in pubs.

SMOKING BANS are Good for Business

1. Since the public smoking ban in Great Britain, 70% of the businesses reported a neutral or positive effect.
2. 59% of the South African restaurants surveyed reported no change in revenue as a result of the smoking ban, while 22% of restaurants reported an increase.
3. In the five years since it has gone non-smoking, Aeroflot airline’s passenger flow increased by 15%, and in flights to the US, the increase was 25%.
4. In his annual report, UK Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said a public smoking ban would save an estimated £2.7 billion: £680 million saved by having a healthier and more efficient workforce; £140 million saved through fewer sick days; £430 million saved from productivity loss from smoking on the job; £100 million saved from clean up costs related to cigarette smoking.