Smoking cessation + exercise = quit

~ Jason Schwartz

Another ingredient to be added to tobacco quit plans:

Quitting smoking is one of the healthiest things a person can do, but it’s also among the hardest, especially for teenage smokers who battle not only addiction but also the social pressure to keep lighting up.

Now new evidence that suggests a way to make their efforts easier: exercise. In a study involving 233 teens aged 14 to 19 in West Virginia (which has one of the highest smoking rates in the country, at more than 22%), teens who participated in a smoking cessation program combined with exercise were on average up to three times more likely to quit smoking than those who were provided only minimal stop-smoking counseling.

 

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.

3 thoughts on “Smoking cessation + exercise = quit”

  1. I think social influences are huge in this area, as well. The Framingham heart study is showing that social network effects have a profound impact on everything from weight to life expectancy. The concern is that many of the remaining smokers in the U.S. at this point may be in somewhat isolated networks of other smokers but I suspect that a friend who quits smoking may be almost as helpful as a nicotine patch.

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  3. Pingback: What what? | Addiction & Recovery News

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