A study suggests, there were 1,200 fewer hospital admissions for heart attacks in England in the year after July 2007 – when the smoking ban came in. <br/><br/>The 2.4 per cent drop was much more modest than that reported in some areas where similar bans have been introduced. Researchers said even a small reduction had important public health benefits. <br/><br/>The British Medical Journal reports the Bath University team in the study analysed English hospital admissions between 2002 and 2009. <br/><br/>Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, who led the study said the fall recorded was nonetheless an important one, and even greater benefits were likely to emerge in years to come. <br/><br/>Similar legislation had already been introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.<br/><br/>Research from Scotland, where a ban was introduced in March 2006, reported a 17 per cent decrease in heart attack admissions in the year after its ban.