Child Asthma Attacks Fall After Public Smoking Bans

In many U.S. communities that have adopted indoor smoking bans, fewer children need emergency asthma treatment, a new study finds. ER visits for childhood asthma attacks fell 17 percent overall in 20 metropolitan areas that prohibit smoking in public places such as restaurants and hotels, researchers found. The study doesn't confirm that the clean air laws directly boost lung health in kids. But, it makes a strong case, according to the researchers from Brown University, the University of Chicago Medical Center and Kansas University. For each hospital, they compared asthma attacks that occurred during the three years before and three years after local indoor-smoking bans began.