But it has never been in question that smoking is bad for you and the people around you. Even if the smoking ban was not going to be effective in stopping people actually smoking, it was still going to be a major factor in reducing the amount of second-hand smoke that other people were forced to inhale.
And now new research indicates that the smoking ban did actually have tangible benefits to the health of the general public. A new study found that the number of children who had to go to hospital with symptoms of asthma has fallen since the ban on smoking in enclosed public places came into effect.
The research revealed that there was a 12.3 percent fall in hospital admissions in the first year after the law was introduced in July 2007. Not only that, but admissions have continued to fall in all of the subsequent years. This suggests that the benefits of the legislation are beginning to shine through and prove it was the right thing to do.
Researchers at Imperial College London analysed NHS statistics and found that there was the equivalent to 6,802 fewer hospital admissions in the first three years of the legislation becoming law in the UK.
Before the ban was pushed through by parliament, it’s known that hospital admissions for children suffering an asthma attack were increasing by 2.2 percent every year. This peaked at 26,969 in 2006-07. The smoking ban has managed to reverse this trend and has added to the body of evidence that shows smoke is very dangerous for children with asthma.