A short walk helps smokers quit
14 March 2007
National Stop Smoking Day: 14 March 2007
Smokers should do short bouts of exercise to help them resist the temptation to light up, say experts at the University of Exeter. A review, recently published in the international journal Addiction, concludes that when smokers abstain from smoking, exercise can help them to manage withdrawal symptoms and resist the urge to smoke.
All 12 studies reviewed in the paper showed that a single bout of moderate exercise, lasting from as little as five minutes, was sufficient to reduce cravings for a cigarette. Exercise like a brisk walk also reduced withdrawal symptoms, such as stress, anxiety and poor concentration. The lead author, Prof Adrian Taylor of the University of Exeter’s School of Sport and Health Sciences said: ‘If a drug revealed the same effects it would immediately be marketed as a valuable aid to help people quit smoking or cut down.’
Today, National No Smoking Day, one in three UK smokers – about 4 million people – are expected to take steps towards giving up, with about 85,000 quitting for good. ‘People who struggle to give up smoking could make things much easier for themselves by taking just moderate exercise,’ said Adrian Taylor. ‘Not only may it help prevent weight gain but it will also help control the cravings and withdrawal symptoms that often lead to relapse.’
Prof Taylor and his team (SSHS PhD student, Kate Janse Van Rensburg, and Dr Tim Hodgson, neuro-cognitive psychologist) at the University of Exeter are conducting ongoing research with brain imaging. They hope to find out how exercise affects the mood centres of the brain, which in turn reduces the appetite for a cigarette. They are also seeking to build exercise advice into existing NHS smoking cessation clinics in a nationally funded project called ‘Walk-2-Quit’.
Journal article:
Taylor, A.H., Ussher, M., & Faulkner, G. (2007). The acute effects of exercise on cigarette cravings, withdrawal symptoms, affect and smoking behaviour: a systematic review. Addiction, 102, 534-543.
Professor Adrian Taylor can be contacted at A.H.Taylor@exeter.ac.uk
www.ex.ac.uk/sshs/
