Summer Activity and Smoking
Physical exercise, a low-fat nutritious diet and living smoke-free are all part of a healthy lifestyle. Each of these activities link in a positive way to create a synergy that makes you a healthier and happier person.
Increasing your exercise can help you cut back and eventually quit smoking.
The summer is a wonderful time to adopt a healthy lifestyle because it is easier to get outside and exercise. Smokers who increase their exercise may find it easier to cut back and eventually quit. Changing one harmful behaviour (e.g. lack of exercise) may serve as a gateway for changing other behaviours (e.g. smoking).
It will come as no surprise that the relationship between smoking and exercise is not a healthy one. People who smoke are less likely to exercise. To make matters worse, smokers who want to become more physically active may find it difficult to get past the early stages of exercise because they have trouble breathing. As a result they often become discouraged and give up.
If you find that your smoking is holding you back, try not to get discouraged. Keep in mind that a reasonable amount of exercise is always a good thing – whether you smoke or not. It is also likely that the more you exercise, the more you will increase your chances of cutting back on smoking.
It is always a good idea to encourage and support your child’s involvement in sports and other activities. Youth who do well in school and participate in structured, extra-curricular activities are less likely to smoke. As an added bonus, youth who don’t smoke and are more physically active are less likely to engage in other health risk behaviours.
Kaczynski AT, Manske SR, Mannell RC, Grewal K. Smoking and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Behaviour. 2008;32(1):93-110.
Kaczynski AT, Manske SR, Mannell RC, Grewal K. Smoking and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Behaviour. 2008;32(1):93-110.
Kaczynski AT, Manske SR, Mannell RC, Grewal K. Smoking and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Behaviour. 2008;32(1):93-110.
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. Accessed February 20, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2004/highlights/9.htm
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. 2002 Physical activity monitor. Accessed February 20, 2008 from http://www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/pam2002.php
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. Accessed February 20, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/sgr.htm
Resnick M. et. Al. Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1997;278:823-32.
Everett SA, Malarcher AM, Sharp DJ, et. al. Relationship between cigarette, smokeless tobacco and cigar use and other health risk behaviours among US high school students. Journal of School Health. 2000;70:234-240.
Increasing your exercise can help you cut back and eventually quit smoking.
The summer is a wonderful time to adopt a healthy lifestyle because it is easier to get outside and exercise. Smokers who increase their exercise may find it easier to cut back and eventually quit. Changing one harmful behaviour (e.g. lack of exercise) may serve as a gateway for changing other behaviours (e.g. smoking). It will come as no surprise that the relationship between smoking and exercise is not a healthy one. People who smoke are less likely to exercise. To make matters worse, smokers who want to become more physically active may find it difficult to get past the early stages of exercise because they have trouble breathing. As a result they often become discouraged and give up.
If you find that your smoking is holding you back, try not to get discouraged. Keep in mind that a reasonable amount of exercise is always a good thing – whether you smoke or not. It is also likely that the more you exercise, the more you will increase your chances of cutting back on smoking.
Get out and get active!
Here are just a few ideas for getting active this summer no matter what your age or fitness level:- Take advantage of the longer days to get out after dinner and go for a walk or a bike ride.
- The summer is a great time to learn a new sport. Is there something adventurous you could try? What about roller-blading or rock climbing?
- Plan a family hike or a longer cycling vacation.
- Work outside in the garden, or if you live in the city, join a gardening cooperative.
- Join a cycling or running club.
- Go for a swim, or set up the sprinkler on your front lawn and just run through it!
- Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and reduces the health of smokers in general.
- 85 – 90% of lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes. The more cigarettes you smoke, the greater your risk of lung cancer.
- Smoking also causes many other diseases, including heart disease and chronic lung disease (e.g., asthma, chronic bronchitis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
- 56% of Canadians don’t get enough activity to keep healthy.
- Lack of exercise has been linked with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
A note to parents:
It is always a good idea to encourage and support your child’s involvement in sports and other activities. Youth who do well in school and participate in structured, extra-curricular activities are less likely to smoke. As an added bonus, youth who don’t smoke and are more physically active are less likely to engage in other health risk behaviours. References
Campbell MK, Tessaro I, DeVellis B, et.al. Tailoring and targeting a worksite health promotion program to address multiple health behaviours among blue-collar women. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2000;14:306-313. Abstract accessed March 7, 2008 from http://apt.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1043%2F0890-1171%282000%29014%5B0306%3ATATAWH%5D2.3.CO%3B2Kaczynski AT, Manske SR, Mannell RC, Grewal K. Smoking and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Behaviour. 2008;32(1):93-110.
Kaczynski AT, Manske SR, Mannell RC, Grewal K. Smoking and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Behaviour. 2008;32(1):93-110.
Kaczynski AT, Manske SR, Mannell RC, Grewal K. Smoking and physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Behaviour. 2008;32(1):93-110.
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. Accessed February 20, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/sgr_2004/highlights/9.htm
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. 2002 Physical activity monitor. Accessed February 20, 2008 from http://www.cflri.ca/eng/statistics/surveys/pam2002.php
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. Accessed February 20, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/sgr.htm
Resnick M. et. Al. Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1997;278:823-32.
Everett SA, Malarcher AM, Sharp DJ, et. al. Relationship between cigarette, smokeless tobacco and cigar use and other health risk behaviours among US high school students. Journal of School Health. 2000;70:234-240.