In honor of American Heart Month, I’d like to remind people of the ways North Dakota’s Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy has improved our state’s heart health. North Dakota now has seven communities with smoke-free ordinances that prevent workers from exposure to secondhand smoke in all indoor workplaces, with more on the way…A recent study by the Mayo Clinic shows that smoke-free ordinances save lives by reducing heart attacks by 45 percent and sudden cardiac deaths by 50 percent…The study proves that reducing people’s exposure to secondhand smoke is a key factor in improving cardiac health.

Grand Forks Herald, Wallace Radtke, Fargo, 02/24/2012

Tags: American Heart Month, Cardiology, North Dakota's Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy, Research, Secondhand Smoke, smoke-free ordinances