Short term effects of public smoking bans on health

This paper evaluates the causal negative effect of environmental tobacco exposure on health by exploiting the time and geographical variation in public-place smoking bans implemented in Switzerland between 2007 and 2011. Using monthly data from the universe of Swiss hospitals between 2004 and 2012, we show that the incidence of acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations decreases by about 10-12% immediately after the law implementation. We also find evidence of heterogeneity by age and sex and across income and education groups. In particular, the policy affected mainly men aged 50+ and the regions characterized by a lower level of income and education.