Whatever happened to Oregon's heart miracle?

Wednesday, November 02 2011

By Jacob Grier | OregonLive.com

When Oregon's smoking ban took effect in 2009, we were promised that it would usher in drastic reductions in heart attacks. A January 2009 story in this paper reported that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke could set the stage for heart attacks and cited research claiming that banning smoking in bars and restaurants could reduce them by 41 percent over three years. Later in 2009 cardiologist Ty Gluckman suggested in The Oregonian Commentary section that we might see a drop in heart attacks of 17 percent in the first year, saving the state $40 million.

So, how's that working out for us?

I contacted the Oregon Public Health Division to ask for the latest data. The good news is that heart attack rates in Oregon have been in steady decline since 2003, the earliest year for which I have data. The bad news for smoking ban advocates is that the ban hasn't noticeably affected this rate and certainly hasn't resulted in the large declines that they predicted.

Mr. Grier's op/ed piece continues at oregonlive.com...