Health Buzz: Smoking Bans Cut Heart Attacks, and Other Health News

CDC: Indoor Smoking Bans May Cut Heart Attack Hospitalizations

Hospitalizations for heart attacks fell sharply in Pueblo, Colo., after the implementation of a law that banned smoking in public places and workplaces, according to the January 2 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. There were 399 heart attack hospitalizations in the city in the 18 months before the smoke-free law went into effect on July 1, 2003, compared with 237 hospitalizations for heart attacks in the 18-month period that began a year and a half after the law went into effect. Researchers also studied two nearby areas that do not have indoor smoking bans and found that there was no significant decline in hospitalizations for heart attacks during the same time periods in those areas, the CDC reports.

Nine previously published studies have found that indoor smoking bans are associated with large, rapid reductions in heart attack hospitalizations, but most of those studies looked at data covering a shorter period of time. The new study suggests that the reduction in hospitalizations for heart attacks persists over an extended period of time. Smoke-free laws likely reduce these hospitalizations by limiting nonsmokers' exposure to secondhand smoke and by reducing smoking overall, according to the CDC.

If you're a smoker, consider this New Year's resolution: Really quit smoking. Also, learn the secrets of those who've successfully quit smoking, and consult our list of 12 reasons to quit smoking.

America's Most Literate Cities

This year's list of most literate cities has been unveiled, and Minneapolis and Seattle tied for first place, U.S. News's Sarah Baldauf reports. Overall, the nation's northern latitudes have a high bookish quotient, she says. In its sixth year, the annual ranking is put out by John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University. Miller views the level of literacy in a given location as a measure of the place's quality of life and level of culture. "I wanted to do a study of not whether people could read but whether or not they do read," he explains. The latter is the more important, he says. After all, in the words of the American literary giant Mark Twain, "The person that doesn't read has no advantage over the person who can't."

Reading is one way to help keep your brain fit as you age. In December, U.S. News listed America's 10 fittest cities—and 10 least fit, too.

So Long, 2008—and Farewell, Cheap Asthma Inhalers

The beginning of 2009 means more than the dawn of a new year for asthmatics. For those told to carry albuterol inhalers with them to use in the event of an asthma attack, it also means that the chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC, inhalers that they have long been accustomed to are no longer available in the United States. CFCs are harmful to the environment, so they are being replaced in inhalers with environmentally friendlier hydrofluoroalkane, or HFA. Unfortunately, the new, eco-sensitive inhalers are not yet available in generic form. But there's good news for those worried about the cost of the new inhalers: Wal-Mart announced this week that it will sell an approved HFA inhaler for $9. The ban on CFC inhalers has long been in the works. Because it's important not to stop asthma treatment without a doctor's permission, asthmatics should talk to their physicians about the switchover to HFA inhalers.

—January W. Payne

Other Popular New Articles From USNews.com

• 6 Ways to Reduce Inflammation Without Taking a Statin
• 10 Reasons Not to Skimp on Sleep
• Why the Gluten-Free Diet Helps Some People and Not Others
• 5 Ways to Keep Bisphenol A, or BPA, Out of Your Food
• 8 Steps to a Healthier Smile
• Stop Smoking: Secrets of Successful Quitters