RubberBuzz || Akron Unleashed: Puff Puff

11.18.2005

Puff Puff

S-day approaches.

Summit County residents wondering what the final version of the proposed countywide smoking ban will look like will have to wait until Monday.

That's the day the council is scheduled to vote on the ban. It's unlikely any proposed amendments will be ready before the council meets.[...]

Councilman Nick Kostandaras, D-Richfield, said he planned to talk to other council members to write amendments in time for Monday's meeting. He is a sponsor of the legislation but has called for amendments so the ban won't be too harmful to local business.

Kostandaras said he would try to obtain exemptions for hotels, smoke shops, private clubs, bowling alleys, and racetracks -- specifically Northfield Park, which is in his district.[...]

Council Clerk David Hannan said phone lines have been jammed with residents voicing their opinions. To avoid busy signals or voice mail, he suggested residents send opinions via e-mail to countycouncil@summitoh.net.

I'm interested to see how this'll all go down. I was recently in a smoke-free bar, and I have to admit, I didn't mind not smelling like stale smoke. I used to think the stale smoke smell was part of the charm of bars, but fresher version of going out was also quite nice. I guess we'll have to wait until Monday to see what the smoky or smokeless future holds.

Going along with the whole smoking ban thing, The BJ ran a story about 2 studies that linked smoking bans to decreased numbers on heart attacks in specified areas. One study seems good the other, not so much.

If Pueblo, Colo., and Helena, Mont., are an accurate guide, a countywide smoking ban could cut the number of heart attacks in Summit County by 27 percent to 40 percent.

A study released this week at the American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions found that the number of heart attacks treated at Pueblo hospitals dropped by 27 percent after the city enacted a smoking ban in 2003.

In the 18 months before the ban, Pueblo's two hospitals treated 399 patients for heart attacks. In the 18 months after the ban, the number of heart attack patients slipped to 291 -- 108 fewer patients.[...]

Published in the April 2004 issue of the British Medical Journal, the study found that 40 percent fewer heart attacks occurred in the Montana capital in the six months after a citywide smoking ban went into effect, compared with a six-month period in the year before the ban.

The Helena study was greeted with skepticism, partly because of its small numbers -- 40 heart attacks in the six months before the ban and 24 after.

I respect the numbers in the Pueblo study, but that Helena study sucked. Six months of data on a smaller population segment will not find you a trend; it's a snapshot of time and a place. Whatever, I'm sure if the ban passes we'll be host to a fun little study.

The BJ :: Smoking-ban vote is Monday

The BJ :: Studies boost smoking ban

(joe :: Puff Puff)

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