The study, which lasted 25 years, confirmed that the ban on smoking in public places does help reduce the number of smokers.
Researchers from Northwestern University (USA) came to the conclusion that the ban on smoking in restaurants and bars really helped many Americans quit smoking. The ban turned out to be most effective for well-off people with higher education - after imposing restrictions on harmful habits, about 20% of representatives of this group refused.
The researchers analyzed the data of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in the Young Adults Study (CARDIA) from 1985 to 2011. It involved more than 5,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 35 years. For 25 years they underwent medical examinations and filled out questionnaires about their way of life. The new study used data on 5071 people.
Researchers gathered information about how the behavior of CARDIA members varied during the 25-year period: how many people quit smoking and how many made such attempts. Also, the authors of the work took into account how many cigarettes a day were smoked by those who did not abandon the harmful habit. This data was compared with the "map" of the US regions, in which the authorities have ever forbidden smoking in restaurants and bars.