Mouth to mouth resuscitation no longer needed in cardiac arrest

According to a study reported in the Lancet mouth to mouth resuscitation is not necessary in rescuing victims of heart attacks. We have been taught this by the Advanced Cardiac Life Support program for the past 3 years. The public was not so informed. When I asked why I was told that it would be too hard to un-teach the principles of Basic Life Support which have been ingrained for more than 30 years. With the exception of drownings and drug overdoses, mouth to mouth resuscitation probably does more harm than good. It takes away valuable time from chest compression, it usually does not move enough air through the lungs to support the victim, and it exposes the rescuer to respiratory diseases. The chest compressions alone are found to move enough air to sustain the cardiac victim. Most cardiac arrests, in fact, will perish if they are not defibrillated, so it is more important to get help than it is to try to remeber the correct ratios of compressions to breaths. I believe this is a good evaluation which may help to save some lives and place a reality for the public on resusitation.