KANAWHA TO STUDY HEALTH EFFECTS OF SMOKING BAN

Proponents for the Kanawha County smoking ban are studying the effects it has had on the health of county residents.

The study will compare health data from 2000 to 2008, and whether the 2003 indoor smoking ban has reduced the number of heart attacks reported in smokers and nonsmokers.

"We expect to find out how the smoking ban is affecting people," said Dr. Rahul Gupta, department chief of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.