Introduction - Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of myocardial infarction by 25% to 30%. Thirteen epidemiological studies and two recent meta-analyses have assessed the impact of smoking bans in public places—implemented since 2002 in the United States and Europe—on the risk of myocardial infarction. The objective of this article is to synthesize these two meta-analyses. Methods - This literature review is based on a comparison of the methods used and the results obtained in the two meta-analyses, which included 10 and 12 epidemiological studies, respectively. Results - The overall effect of smoking bans on the risk of myocardial infarction was estimated using a random-effects model in both meta-analyses. A meta-regression to explore sources of heterogeneity among the included studies was performed in both meta-analyses. Both meta-analyses showed an overall reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction between the pre- and post-ban periods, estimated at 17% [95% CI: 8.0–25.0] in the meta-analysis by Meyers et al. and 19% [95% CI: 15.0–22.0] in that by Lightwood et al. In both, it was shown that the reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction was greater as the duration of follow-up increased. Conclusion - The results of these two meta-analyses are relatively consistent and demonstrate a significant association between a ban on smoking in public places and a reduced risk of myocardial infarction. However, the strength of this association cannot be precisely quantified because many factors could not be accounted for in the studies. (R.A.)