A recent study of one Colorado town has demonstrated that bans on public smoking may improve the health of mothers and their fetuses. When compared to another Colorado town of similar size and demographic characterstics, the town that had implemented a ban on smoking in public places showed significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm birth rates. Similar bans have previously been shown to decrease incidence of myocardial infarctions at the population level, but this is the first evidence that such population-level interventions may improve the health of mothers and their fetuses.
May
2012