the lie that secondhand smoke causes heart disease

The Lie That Secondhand Smoke CausesHeart Disease

Corrupt Charlatans at the Institute of Medicine BasedTheir Fraudulent Report on Deliberate Concealment ofthe Evidence!

They performed no new studies, and merely uncritically regurgitated "published andunpublished data and testimony on the relationship between secondhand smoke andshort-term and long-term heart problems." They ignored the CDC and other data ondeath rates which shows no discernable effect of smoking bans, and whichfurthermore reveals that the authors of the anti-smoking studies cynicallycherry-picked their study periods and control populations. This data is freelyaccessible to the public, AND TO THE MEDIA, WHO UNQUESTIONINGLY PARROTTHEIR FLAGRANT LIES AS TRUTH. (Secondhand Smoke Exposure and CardiovascularEffects: Making Sense of the Evidence. National Academies Press, 2009.)

Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects / NAP 2009 Press Release

These vermin are corrupt ideologues, not scientists, because they refuseto examine any evidence which does not support their preordainedconclusions and their totalitarian social engineering agenda. In fact,they are the exact OPPOSITE of real scientists, and perfect examples oflying PROSTITUTES in the service of POLITICIANS.

Workplace Smoking Bans Don't Reduce Heart DiseaseDeath Rates

The four states which banned smoking in most workplaces during 2002-2003 did notexperience dramatic drops in the rate of death from acute myocardial infarction duringthe year after their smoking bans were implemented. They also have not experiencedgreater declines in death rates from acute myocardial infarction than the rest of theUnited States. Connecticut banned smoking in the workplace, including restaurants andbars, but exempting casinos and private clubs, as of Oct. 1, 2003. Delaware bannedsmoking in all public buildings and workplaces including bars, restaurants, and casinos,as of Nov. 27, 2003. Florida banned smoking in the workplace (including all restaurants),with stand-alone bars and smoking rooms in hotels exempt, as of July 1, 2003. SouthDakota banned smoking in most workplaces, except bars and casinos, in July 2002.

The Lie That Secondhand Smoke Causes Heart Di... http://www.smokershistory.com/etsheart.html

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CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Connecticut, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Delaware, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Florida, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of South Dakota, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, United States (minus 4), 1999-2005

The Massachusetts Smoking Ban Study

The anti-smokers claimed that, "The study, conducted by the state Department of PublicHealth and the Harvard School of Public Health, shows that a steep decline in heart attackdeaths started as Boston and most of its neighbors adopted bans. Enforcement of thestatewide law beginning in mid-2004 coincided with a further reduction, the study found.From 2003 to 2006, heart attack deaths in Massachusetts plummeted 30 percent,significantly accelerating what had been a more modest long-term decline." Dr. MichaelSiegel, a phony critic of the anti-smokers who doesn't tell the rest of the story, claimedthat "You can no longer argue that these declines would have occurred simply due tomedical treatment." (Smoking ban tied to a gain in lives. By Stephen Smith. Boston Globe,Nov. 12, 2008.) Boston, Watertown, Saugus and Framingham banned smoking in May2003. In Boston, it was banned everywhere but outdoors and in private homes, hotelrooms and some cigar bars. Cambridge banned smoking in all workplaces, including barsand restaurants, including all bars and restaurants, on June 9, 2003.

"'When we looked at the data, we saw a dramatic drop in heart attack deaths beginning inJuly, 2005 — a year after the workplace smoking ban went into effect. While there may beseveral factors that played a role in this decline, we believe the single most compellingreason was reduced exposure to secondhand smoke in workplaces across the state,' DPHCommissioner John Auerbach said." They promised that the study would be publishedearly next year with estimates of the cost savings [sic] to the Massachusetts health caresystem. (Massachusetts Sees Fewer Heart Attack Deaths Since Implementation of


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Smoke-Free Workplace Law. Press Release, Massachusetts Department of Public Health,Nov. 12, 2008.)

In 1999, the age-adjusted death rate from acute myocardial infarction in the United States(minus four states which had statewide workplace bans prior to 2004) was 73.2 per 100k,and in 2005 it was 49.1. In Massachusetts. the respective rates were 60.8 and 41.2.Thus, in 2005, the death rate from AMI in the US (minus states that hadstatewide workplace bans) was at 67.1% of its former level, while inMassachusetts it was at 67.8% of its former level. So, the rate of decline in AMI deathrates in Massachusetts since 1999 was no different from that of the rest of the UnitedStates as of 2005, the year after the smoking ban took effect.

CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Massachusetts, 1999-2005

The Pueblo, Colorado Smoking Ban Heart Attack Study

They don't even know if patients were exposed to either active or secondhandsmoke, nor whether they even went to a bar. Furthermore:

"A critical piece of information is omitted from both the Pueblo Health Department pressrelease and from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids press release: that the expectednumber of heart attacks during the six-month period preceding the Pueblo smoking ban issubstantially higher than the expected number of heart attacks during the six-monthperiod after the Pueblo smoking ban. The reason for this is that the six-month periodpreceding the Pueblo smoking ban includes the winter months, while the six-month periodfollowing the Pueblo ban includes the summer months, and heart attack admissions duringthe winter have been shown to be substantially higher than during the summer. Sincethere were two winters and only one summer in the 18-month baseline period (before thesmoking ban in Pueblo) and only one winter but two summers in the follow-up period(after the smoking ban), one would expect to see a decrease in the number of reportedheart attacks, even in the absence of a smoking ban. In fact, there are 53% more cases ofacute myocardial infarction (heart attacks) during the winter compared to the summer(see: Spencer FA, Goldberg RJ, Becker RC. Seasonal distribution of acute myocardialinfarction in the Second National Registry of Myocardial Infarction. Journal of theAmerican College of Cardiology 1998; 31:1226-1233). In the Mountain region of thecountry (which includes Colorado), there are 50.3% more heart attacks during the winterthan the summer." (New Study Links Smoke-Free Ordinances to Fewer Heart Attacks. ThePueblo City-County Health Department. PR Newswire, Nov. 14, 2005; PrematureConclusions from Pueblo: More Information and More Research Needed Before Taking thisto the Public. By Michael Siegel. Nov. 19, 2005.) This is a good reason to look at the datafor twelve-month periods.

Pueblo City-County Health Department, Nov. 14, 2005 / PR Newswire

"Dr. Donald Lavan, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania and a heart associationspokesman, called the study preliminary but important. 'We know that when people stopsmoking, we start to see improvements in six months for the individual,' but this studyshows the benefit to the community as well, he said. 'It reaffirms the fact that secondhandsmoke is deleterious to all people,' Lavan said." (Study: Heart Attacks Drop With SmokingBan. Nov. 14, 2005 (AP).


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The study was finally published in late 2006. (Reduction in the incidence of acutemyocardial infarction associated with a citywide smoking ordinance. C Bartecchi, RNAlsever, C Nevin-Woods, WM Thomas, RO Estacio, BB Bartelson, MJ Krantz. Circulation2006 Oct 3;114(14):1490-6.) The decitful title lies that the smoking ban reduced theincidence of acute myocardial infarctions, when they only determined there was areduction in hospital admissions under that diagnosis. Hospital admissions in fact are amatter of hospital admission policies, which are entirely under the [anti-smoker] doctors'control. The only thing necessary to achieve a "reduction" in admissions (withoutcompromising patient survival) is to deliberately admit patients too freely in the periodbefore the ban, then go back to a more restrictive admission policy afterward. However,there is probable cause to suspect that patients' health was sacrificed, because the deathrates from AMI rose during the period after the ban.

Bartecchi / Circulation 2006 full article

Heart Disease Death Rates in Pueblo County versus El Paso County

Death rates from acute myocardial infarction in Pueblo County increasedthe year after the ban.

The smoking ban in the city of Pueblo began in July 2003. The anti-smokers compared therates of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction during the 18-month period beforethe ban, beginning in January 2002, with the 18-month period after the ban began,ending in December 2004; and added a second follow-up from January 2005 to June 2006.They also compared it with the larger, ban-free neighboring county of El Paso, whoselargest city is Colorado Springs. In contrast to their boasts of reduced hospitalizations foracute MI with false implications of a rapid improvement in public health, in Pueblo Countythe death rates from AMI rose from 36.9 in 2002 to 43.9 per 100,000 in 2004, whiledeclining slightly in El Paso County, where there was no ban either in its largest city oranywhere within the county. About two-thirds of the approximately 150,000 people inPueblo County live in the City of Pueblo.

Deaths from all ischemic heart


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disease are predominantly dueto chronic IHD, with acutemyocardial infarctions insecond place. There were 831deaths from chronic ischemicheart disease and 490 deathsfrom AMI in Pueblo Countyfrom 1999 to 2005; and 2159deaths from chronic IHD and848 from AMI in El PasoCounty during the same period.The seven-year average ofdeath rates from all IHD of thetwo adjoining counties areremarkably similar, 110.9 and113.9 (age-adjusted) respectively, despite 22.6% smokers in Pueblo County versus 17.7%smokers in El Paso County. (CDC Compressed Mortality File 1999-2005,http://wonder.cdc.gov/cmf-icd10.html.)

CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, El Paso County CO, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Pueblo County CO, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Colorado, 1999-2005

On Jan. 2, 2009, the anti-smokers iniated a new barrage of propaganda with the extendedanalysis (Reduced Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction After Implementationof a Smoke-Free Ordinance --- City of Pueblo, Colorado, 2002--2006. Reported by: RNAlsever, MD, Parkview Medical Center; WM Thomas, PhD, St. Mary-Corwin MedicalCenter; C Nevin-Woods, DO, R Beauvais, S Dennison, R Bueno, Pueblo City-County HealthDept; L Chang, PhD, Colorado State Univ-Pueblo; CE Bartecchi, MD, Univ of ColoradoSchool of Medicine. S Babb, MPH, A Trosclair, MS, M Engstrom, MS, T Pechacek, PhD, RKaufmann, PhD, Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic DiseasePrevention and Health Promotion, CDC. MMWR Weekly 2009 Jan 2;57(51)1373-1377). Aneditorial proclaimed that "These findings provide support for considering smoke-freepolicies an important component of interventions to prevent heart disease morbidity andmortality." Obviously, this is a delieberate lie, because the CDC sits upon the pile of datawhich proves otherwise.

Alsever et al. / MMWR 2009 full article

No Net Reduction of Ischemic Heart Disease Deaths in Greeley, Either

The reporter from the Rocky Mountain News burbled that, "Like Pueblo, in 2003, Greeleybanned smoking in restaurants, bars, businesses and other places where people gather.Several cities, including Greeley, found that heart attacks went down in the 18 monthsafter a smoking ban began. The number of heart attacks in Greeley, for example, droppedby 16 percent in Greeley, according to the University of Colorado Health Sciences study."(Study links smoking bans, heart attack rate. By Bill Scanlon. Rocky Mountain News, Jan.2, 2009.)

In Greeley, Weld County, Colorado, a smoking ban was enacted in December 2003. The


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age-adjusted death rates from all ischemic heart disease had declined since 1999 andreached a low of 115.9 per 100,000 in 2003, then rose slightly to 124.6 in 2005. Thedeath rates of chronic ischemic heart disease and acute myocardial infarction both felluntil 2002, then sharply diverged in 2003. AMI death rates remained stable, while CHDdeath rates rose. During 1999-2002, the death rates from AMI and CHD had beenapproximately equal, but by 2005 the death rates from CHD were more than twice thoseof AMI. So, there has been no miraculous reduction in heart disease deaths in Greeleyafter all. (Data source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center forHealth Statistics. Compressed Mortality File 1999-2005. CDC WONDER On-line Database,compiled from Compressed Mortality File 1999-2005 Series 20 No. 2K, 2008. Accessed athttp://wonder.cdc.gov/cmf-icd10.html on Jan. 3, 2009.)

CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Weld County CO, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease, Weld County CO, 1999-2005

The Helena, Montana Smoking Ban Heart Attack Study

This study was recycled from over a year before, and it is garbage because theydon't even know if patients were exposed to secondhand smoke, nor whether theyeven spent any appreciable time in a smoke-free workplace (most heart attackvictims are over 65 years of age)

Reduced incidence of admissions for myocardial infarction associated with public smokingban: before and after study. Richard P. Sargent, Robert M. Shepard, Stanton A. Glantz.BMJ 2004 Apr 24;328:977-980. Glantz's two co-authors were attending physicians at StPeter's Community Hospital in Helena, Montana, "a geographically isolated communitywith one hospital serving a population of 68 140." "The attending physician made thediagnosis at the time of discharge, and the hospital billing staff assigned the codes. (Twoof the authors (RPS and RMS) were attending physicians for 18 of the 304 admissionsincluded in this study and so assigned the diagnosis." [So, two of the authors were in aposition to directly influence the admission rates. And the isolation they cite as astudy strength makes collusion with others likely -cast] They admit that "We did notmake any direct observations to measure how much exposure to secondhand smoke was


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reduced during the months when the law was in force. We do not know the prevalence ofsmoking in venues covered by ban, though the city-county health department reportedthat all but two businesses complied."

Sargent - BMJ 2004 full article / PubMed Central

(Mont. Smoking Ban Cuts Heart Attacks. By Daniel Q. Haney, AP Medical Editor akacorrupt anti-smokers' whore. DATE: APRIL 1, 2003. [<= HINT: April Fool's Day.])"Sargent, who with co-author Dr. Robert Shepard encouraged passage of theordinance, presented the data Tuesday to applause at the annual scientific meeting inChicago of the American College of Cardiology." They were presumably applauded fortheir willingness to commit fraud.

Mont. Smoking Ban Cuts Heart Attacks / CigOutlet.net

Even veteran anti-smokers such as G.C. Kabat reject this study. (Effect of Public SmokingBan in Helena, Montana. Geoffrey C. Kabat. BMJ 2004 Jun 5;328(7452):1379.) "Firstly,the researchers had no information on whether exposure to second hand smoke changedas a result of the ban. They also did not present any information on whether smokinghabits were affected by the ban. If the study was concerned to isolate an effect of secondhand tobacco smoke, it should have been restricted to the 33% of the study populationwho were never smokers.... Finally, the "immediate effect" should make anyone stop andquestion the connection the authors are asserting. There are few interventions in publichealth that have such an immediate impact. Even if all active smokers in Helena had quitsmoking for at least a year, one would not expect to see such a dramatic effect. Theattempt to make claims about the effects of smoking bans based on this very weakecological study raises disturbing questions about our ability to distinguish betweensound science and wishful thinking." [This last is an understatement. The publication of astudy such as this merely proves the willingness of anti-smokers in general and theBritish Medical Journal in particular to indulge in scientific fraud and misrepresentation,in order to push their political agenda -cast]

Kabat / BMJ 2004 full article

Heart Disease Death Rates in Lewis and Clark County, Montana

The Helena study "compared the number of admissions during the six months the law wasin effect (in 2002) with the average number of admissions during the same six months inthe years before (1998-2001) and after (2003) the law," with 304 cases altogether. Theyclaimed that "During the six months the law was enforced the number of admissions fellsignificantly (- 16 admissions, 95% confidence interval - 31.7 to - 0.3), from an average of40 admissions during the same months in the years before and after the law to a total of24 admissions during the six months the law was effect." Smoking was banned in Helena,Montana, from June 5, 2002, to December 3, 2002. But, death rates from acutemyocardial infarction were nearly identical in 2001 and 2002, and reached theirlowest point in 2003, the year after the smoking ban was repealed.


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CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Lewis and Clark County MT, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Montana, 1999-2005

The New York State Smoking Ban Study

"New York State enacted limited statewide smoking restrictions in 1989. The restrictionslimited or prohibited smoking in many public places including schools, hospitals, publicbuildings, and retail stores. Employers were required to develop smoking policies andprovide smoke-free work areas upon employee request. Larger restaurants were requiredto establish nonsmoking sections. Countywide smoking restrictions began in 1995 whenSuffolk County and the 5 New York City counties implemented laws that restrictedsmoking in restaurants. By 2002, 75% of New Yorkers were subject to local smokingrestrictions that were stronger than the state law. Many of these local laws completelybanned smoking in workplaces and some expanded restrictions on smoking in restaurants.None limited smoking in bars. On July 24, 2003, New York implemented a statewidecomprehensive smoking ban that prohibited smoking in all workplaces includingrestaurants and bars. After implementation of the statewide law, population exposure to


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environmental tobacco smoke declined nearly 50%. Cotinine levels in the saliva from arepresentative sample of New York State adults, declined from 0.078 ng/mL to 0.041ng/mL. Nassau County and New York City implemented similar comprehensive bans inMarch 2003." They claimed that "In 2004, there were 3813 fewer hospital admissions foracute myocardial infarction than would have been expected in the absence of thecomprehensive smoking ban. Direct health care cost savings of $56 million were realizedin 2004." Specific details about patient smoking status or exposure to environmentaltobacco smoke were not known. (Declines in Hospital Admissions for Acute MyocardialInfarction in New York State After Implementation of a Comprehensive Smoking Ban. HRJuster, BR Loomis, TM Hinman, MC Farrelly, A Hyland, UE Bauer, GS Birkhead. Am JPublic Health 2007 Nov;97(11):2035-2039.)

Juster - Am J Public Health 2007 abstract / PubMedJuster - Am J Public Health 2007 full article / Medscape

Heart Disease Death Rates in New York

Differences in the death rates from acute myocardial infarction between New York Cityand the rest of the state (minus the five boroughs of New York City, which are coextensivewith five counties, and Suffolk and Nassau Counties) were smaller before the draconianban on all indoor smoking was imposed on the entire state.

New York City's death rates from chronic ischemic heart disease are much higher thanthose of the rest of the state (minus the seven counties), and chronic IHD deaths, notacute myocardial infarctions, are the largest component of all ischemic heart diseasedeaths.


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New York City's death rates from all ischemic heart disease have likewise been higherthan those in the rest of the state; and, despite New York City's embrace of smoking bans,the gap has widened.

The Indiana Smoking Ban Study

The anti-smokers exploited an anomalous spike in AMI death rates.

In all years from 1999 to 2005 except 2001, the death rates from acute myocardialinfarction in Monroe County were somewhat lower than in Delaware County. In 2001,there was an anomalous spike in the AMI death rates in Monroe County. They rose from58.7 to 77.9 per 100,000, then fell in 2002. The pre-ban study period was from Aug. 2001to May 2003, and likely included extra admissions during the spike. These inflated heartattack admission rates in the pre-ban period were compared with the post-ban period from


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Aug. 2003 to May 2005. Delaware County and Monroe County have experienced nearlyidentical slight declines in their AMI death rates from 2003 to 2005.

CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Delaware County IN, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Monroe County IN, 1999-2005CDC Data File, Acute Myocardial Infarction, State of Indiana, 1999-2005

(Reduced admissions for acute myocardial infarction associated with a public smokingban: matched controlled study. DC Seo, MR Torabi. J Drug Educ 2007;37(3):217-226.)

Seo & Torabi - J Drug Educ 2007 abstract / PubMedSeo & Torabi - J Drug Educ 2007 full article / Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium(pdf, 10 pp)

The Ohio Smoking Ban Study

The anti-smokers used a non-typical county for comparison.

The anti-smokers claimed that rates of hospitalization for angina, heart failure,atherosclerosis and acute myocardial infarction in Bowling Green, Ohio, significantlydeclined from 2002 to the first half of 2005, while those in Kent, Ohio did not significantlychange. However, Portage County (Kent) had lower death rates from all ischemic heartdisease to begin with, and the decline in Wood County (Bowling Green) was nearlyidentical to the decline in the state as a whole, which had no statewide ban. (The impactof a smoking ban on hospital admissions for coronary heart disease. SA Khuder, S Milz, TJordan, J Price, K Silvestri, P Butler. Prev Med 2007 Jul;45(1):3-8.)

Khuder - Prev Med 2007 abstract / PubMedReview of Khuder et al / ProCor


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CDC Data File, All Ischemic Heart Disease, Portage County OH, 1999-2005CDC Data File, All Ischemic Heart Disease, Wood County OH, 1999-2005CDC Data File, All Ischemic Heart Disease, State of Ohio, 1999-2005

The Scottish Smoking Ban Acute Coronary SyndromeStudy

The anti-smokers compared the number of hospital admissions for acute coronarysyndrome during a ten-month period following the ban on indoor smoking in public placesin Scotland, with the ten-month period preceding the ban. They crowed that "the numberof admissions for acute coronary syndrome decreased from 3235 to 2684 — a 17%reduction (95% confidence interval, 16 to 18) — as compared with a 4% reduction inEngland (which has no such legislation) during the same period and a mean annualdecrease of 3% (maximum decrease, 9%) in Scotland during the decade preceding thestudy." They and their media propaganda organs ballyhooed it as proof that smoking banssaved lives. (Smoke-free legislation and hospitalizations for acute coronary syndrome. JPPell, S Haw, S Cobbe, DE Newby, AC Pell, C Fischbacher, A McConnachie, S Pringle, DMurdoch, F Dunn, K Oldroyd, P Macintyre, B O'Rourke, W Borland. N Engl J Med 2008Jul 31;359(5):482-491.)

Pell - N Engl J Med 2008 abstract / PubMed

But a few months after the end of their study period, the number ofhospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome sharply increased!


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The increase in the number of admissions for acute coronary syndrome was notparalleled by increases in the numbers of admissions for acute myocardialinfarction or stroke, which continued their long-term decline.

Seasonally identical 12-month periods ACS AMI Stroke All

Apr-05 to Mar-06 7899 8300 7896 24095

Apr-06 to Mar-07 7264 7764 7843 22871

Apr-07 to Mar-08 8926 7286 7569 23781

Hospital Activity. AC5 - Emergency admission: heart attack/angina/stroke, by NHS board,2005-2008 (by month). Information Services, NHS National Services Scotland.

Emergency admission: heart attack/angina/stroke / ISD Scotland (xls)

Coronary Heart Disease. Full List of Tables. Information Services, NHS National ServicesScotland. Page last updated: 25-NOV-2008.

Coronary Heart Disease / ISD Scotland

The Irish Smoking Ban Study

(Impact of a national smoking ban on the rate of admissions to hospital with acutecoronary syndromes. E Cronin, P Kearney, P Sullivan. Presented at the annual scientificsymposium of the European Society of Cardiology, 2007. Citation: European Heart Journal2007;28(Abstract Supplement):585.)

Purpose: A ban on smoking in public places was introduced in Ireland on the 29th ofMarch 2004. As both active and passive smoking are risk factors for coronaryatherosclerosis, this might be expected to lead to a decrease in the number of patientspresenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).


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Methods: We analysed data collected in a continuous registry of all patients admitted tohospital with ACS in the south-western region, catchment population 620,525, toascertain whether the ban has led to a decrease in the number of presentations to hospitalwith ACS.

Results: In the year ending 28th March 2004, there were 1277 admissions with ACS. Inthe year 29/03/2004 to 28/03/2005 there were 1092 admissions with ACS. This representsan absolute decline of 185, or 14.5%. The absolute decline was similar in males andfemales (15.6% and 12.0% respectively), but greater in smokers than in non-smokers(22.8% vs. 10.46%). The results are not accounted for by trends in hospital admissionswith ACS in the preceding nine months.

Conclusions: A national ban on smoking in public places resulted in a decrease inadmissions for ACS, especially in smokers. Our study provides evidence of the rapid effectof banning smoking in public places on decreasing the burden of ACS."

Search page / European Society of Cardiology

The lie-spewing media breathlessly proclaimed that "More than 17,000 heart attackscould be prevented in the UK after smoking in public places was banned, a conferenceheard yesterday. It could mean one in seven of the 123,000 heart attacks annually acrossthe UK could be prevented if the results were replicated." Dr Edmond Cronin, of CorkUniversity Hospital in Ireland, lied outright: "A national ban on smoking in public placesresulted in a decrease in admissions for heart attack, especially in smokers. Our studyprovides evidence of the rapid effect of banning smoking in public places on decreasingthe burden of heart attacks." (Smoking ban 'reduces heart attack rate'. By Rebecca Smith.The Telegraph, Sep. 5, 2007.)

These claims are a lie, because they used the admission rates of only nine months beforeas their baseline, and disregard the fact that a strong decline in heart disease deaths wasalready occurring, which began long before the smoking ban began on on March 29,2004!

Cause of Death 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Ischaemic Heart Disease 7,240 7,059 6,589 6,163 6,107 5,583 5,485 5,064 4,860

(Deaths from principal causes registered in the years 1998 to 2006. Central StatisticsOffice Ireland, accessed 9-5-07.)

Deaths from principal causes registered in the years 1998 to 2006 / Central StatisticsOffice Ireland

The Reuters writer used the story as a pretext for a general spew-fest, but admitted that,"There was no significant change in heart attacks in the second year after the ban,indicating a possible step change in medical outcomes." (Heart attacks tumble after Irishsmoking ban. By Ben Hirschler. Reuters, Sep 4, 2007.) Because actual heart diseasedeaths continued to decline during this period, the drop in admissions most likelyreflects a "step change" in the admission policy, not the outcome! (For example,British doctors were historically less likely to admit patients for a heart attack thandoctors in the U.S., with no difference in outcome.)


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The Truth

Heart disease death rates have fallen steadily since 1961 to levels below those of the year1900. (Fig. 1. In: Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Decline in Deaths fromHeart Disease and Stroke -- United States, 1900-1999. MMWR 1999 Aug6;48(30):649-656.)

The decline in death rates since 1970 has been as large among smokers as amongnon-smokers: When the sharp decline in heart disease death rates began in the UnitedStates in the 1960s, it was the same in smokers as in non-smokers: "Nonsudden CHDdeath decreased by 64% (95% CI 50% to 74%, Ptrend<0.001), and SCD rates decreasedby 49% (95% CI 28% to 64%, Ptrend<0.001). These trends were seen in men and women,in subjects with and without a prior history of CHD, and in smokers and nonsmokers."(Temporal trends in coronary heart disease mortality and sudden cardiac death from 1950to 1999: the Framingham Heart Study. CS Fox, JC Evans, MG Larson, WB Kannel, D Levy.Circulation 2004 Aug 3;110(5):522-527.) The decline in cigarette smoking has been muchgreater in middle-aged men than in middle-aged women, which is not at all in accord withthe equivalence in the decline in mortality for the sexes. The decline in this studyparallels the decline nationwide, and it began before there were any appreciable numberof smoking bans.

Fox / Circulation 2004 full article

For political reasons, the anti-smokers have suppressed the hypothesis


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that smokers and non-smokers have merely been exposed at differentrates to the real causal factor(s), and that their respective rates of heartdisease have declined as population-wide exposure declines. This is thehypothesis which best fits the evidence!

For socioeconomic reasons, smokers and passive smokers are more likely to have beenexposed to infectious causes of heart disease, such as cytomegalovirus. The anti-smokers'studies deliberately ignore the role of infection, in order to falsely blame active smokingand secondhand smoke for the excess. This is the reason that the pretended effects ofsecondhand smoke are so similar to the pretended effects of active smoking.

CMV & other infections cause heart disease

The "Heart Rate Variabilty" Scam

Effects of passive smoking on heart rate variability, heart rate and blood pressure: anobservational study. D Felber Dietrich, J Schwartz, C Schindler, JM Gaspoz, JCBarthélémy, JM Tschopp, F Roche, A von Eckardstein, O Brändli, P Leuenberger, DRGold, U Ackermann-Liebrich. Int J of Epidemiol 2007;36(4):834-840. [This is a JoelSchwartz/Harvard School of Public Health study, which means that they grind an axpromoting hysteria about particulates, and always ignore infection.] This study claimed tofind lower LF power (~199 vs. ~234 ms²), higher heart rate (~75.3 vs. ~73.4 bpm), andhigher diastolic blood pressure (~83.3 vs. ~81.8 mmHg) in ETS-exposed >2h/d vs.nonexposed subjects (estimated from Fig. 2). However, these are not the directmeasurements of those values, they have all been jiggered by being "adjusted for studysite, sex, age, education, BMI, diabetes and beta-blocker intake."

They claim that "Our study provides further evidence that ETS exposure is associatedwith cardiac autonomic dysregulation, which may be an intermediate step in the pathwayto cardiac instability;" and that "LF, which is considered to represent both sympatheticand parasympathetic activities, was lower in subjects with higher ETS exposure. We alsoobserved ETS-associated increases in heart rate and, more weakly, in DBP, consistent withincreases in sympathetic stimulation." [Except that this claim that LF is associated withcardiac sympathetic innervation and function is bogus: "Several previous investigationshave cast doubt on the validity of LF power as a measure of sympathetic activity, becauseof dissociations between LF power and cardiac norepinephrine spillover, directly recordedsympathetic nerve traffic, and plasma norepinephrine levels (4,6,23). Such dissociationsare especially glaring in patients with congestive heart failure, which is characterized bydecreased LF power (11) despite marked cardiac sympathetic activation." Moak, 2007].

This study admits that the small differences between ETS-exposed and non-exposedsubjects were present 24 hours a day (i.e., when no exposure to ETS occurred): "Sincefew people are exposed to ETS during sleep, we restricted analyses to the sleep period,when acute exposure can be excluded and found results similar to those of the 24-hmeasures. Therefore, we think that our findings do not reflect acute responses." But, whenthe same differences are present during non-exposure as during acute exposure, the onlyconclusion that could legitimately be drawn is that ETS exposure does not produce thosedifferences in the first place. However, rather than making the valid deduction that thosedifferences were probably due to small pre-existing differences in health conditionsbetween the exposed and the non-exposed subjects which were not accounted for in their


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analysis, these charlatans spout pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo:

"ETS may affect autonomic control of the heart through activation of neural receptors ofthe respiratory tract. On the other hand, gaseous components, soluble fractions of theparticulate component and ultrafine particle components of ETS may be absorbed in thelung and have additional systemic effects. In the experimental setting, chronic ETSexposure has been shown to increase proinflammatory cytokines and arterial resistance, todecrease concentrations of antioxidants and to increase lipid peroxidation. We found noevidence of ETS-associated increases in inflammation as measured by CRP and othercausal mechanisms may predominate with low-grade chronic exposure. Recent work byBartoli and colleagues suggests that particle exposures alter barometric reflexes, apathway through which ETS exposure might also influence HRV. Ultrafine particles areassociated with oxidative stress, as well as with reduced HRV." This is nothing but a snowjob! They are trying to make people believe in an effect which they could notdemonstrate exists in the first place!

Felber Dietrich / Int J Epidemiol 2007 full article

Eating Causes Heart Rate Changes

Periprandial changes of the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance related to perceivedsatiety in humans. LF Harthoorn, E Dransfield. Eur J Appl Physiol 2008Mar;102(5):601-608. "Subjects were exposed to a lunch-inducedhunger-satiety shift,while profiling diverse sensory, physiological, and biochemical characteristics at 15 minintervals.... Finally, neither chewing nor swallowing contributed to a heart rate increaseat food consumption, but orosensory stimulation, as tested with modified sham feeding,caused a partial increase of heart rate."

Harthoorn - Eur J Appl Physiol 2008 abstract / PubMed

Heavy Drinking Causes Cardiovascular Changes

The alcohol hangover. JG Wiese, MG Shlipak, WS Browner. Ann Intern Med 2000 Jun6;132(11):897-902. "Hangover may also be an independent risk factor for cardiac death.Symptoms of hangover seem to be caused by dehydration, hormonal alterations,dysregulated cytokine pathways, and toxic effects of alcohol. Physiologic characteristicsinclude increased cardiac work with normal peripheral resistance, diffuse slowing onelectroencephalography, and increased levels of antidiuretic hormone."

Wiese / Ann Intern Med 2000 full article

See Also:

The Surgeon General Lies That Smoking Causes Heart DiseaseThe EPA's ETS LiesInfections in Peripheral Arterial DiseaseThe American Heart AssociationHow the Public Was Brainwashed About Heart Disease

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17 of 18 04/03/2011 04:23 PM

cast 01-09-11


18 of 18 04/03/2011 04:23 PM

the lie that secondhand smoke causes heart disease

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