To begin, let’s agree that quitting smoking permanently provides powerful lasting health benefits, including greater life expectancy and lower incidence of chronic cardiac and respiratory disease among other positive consequences. Let’s further agree that stopping permanently is the number one way that smokers can improve their health – quite quickly and dramatically.
But let's be real – smoking cessation success rates are dismal. Somewhere between 4-7% of people who try to stop smoking on their own are successful in abstaining for one year or more. For those who receive cessation assistance through some combination of counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and other treatments, success rates range from 15-33% abstinence for at least six months. Overall, nicotine addiction is excruciatingly difficult to shake off – even the minority of smokers who are successful in stopping require 8-10 attempts before they finally break through. The Center for Disease Control reports that in a given year in the U.S. less than 5% of our 43 million current adult smokers successfully stop for 3-12 months!
So if you aren’t ready to quit or you’ve tried in the past without success, what can you do to help protect your health?
Believe it or not, research has shown that exercise rehabilitation programs for smokers reduces lung function declines, reduces the risk of developing COPD, and increases stop-smoking rates. In our opinion, an active exercise program, patterned after the principles and practices of pulmonary rehabilitation, is the next best defense available to you if you can’t or won’t stop smoking. By way of example we offer the below studies for your consideration.
In one study, researchers examined various levels of physical activity among active smokers, former smokers and never smokers. Their conclusion, “Among active smokers, we observed a dose–response relationship: the higher the level of physical activity, the lower the lung function decline or COPD incidence.” For more details about this study, see the free full text by clicking here. (Garcia-Aymerich J, et al. Regular Physical Activity Modifies Smoking-related Lung Function Decline and Reduces Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2007 Mar 1; 175(5):458-63.)
Another study in the August 2008 issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine described the positive impact of combining rehabilitation therapy (including pulmonary rehabilitation) with smoking cessation programs on stop-smoking rates. In this study, the researchers divided the study participants into two groups. One group participated in a smoking cessation program while also undergoing a rehabilitation program (rehabilitation group). The second group received just the smoking cessation program (control group). The results – 68% of the rehabilitation group were successful in stopping smoking at one year after the study compared to only 32% for the control group. The free full text of the study can be found by clicking here. (Paone G, et al. The Combination of a Smoking Cessation Programme With Rehabilitation Increases Stop-Smoking Rate. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 2008 Aug;40(8):672-7).
Further still, researchers in another article published in November 2009 regarding prescribing exercise for smokers noted, "Studies have shown that physical exercise helps reduce the intensity of some of the main symptoms that may arise when a smoker attempts to quit, yet doctors and sport therapists are generally unaware of this benefit and do not know how to prescribe exercise appropriately." Ayan, Perez C. Prescribing Exercise in Tobacco Smoking Cessation Therapy. Arch Bronconeumol. 2009 Nov; 45(11):556-60. (the full study is available for free in Spanish by clicking here. An English abstract of the study can be found by clicking here).
Numerous other articles/studies reflect similar findings – regular exercise for smokers does generate positive respiratory function compared to smokers who don't exercise. And as mentioned above some researchers have demonstrated that exercise can actually improve smoking cessation success rates.
So whether you are frustrated with previous attempts to quit smoking but want to do something positive to protect your health, or you are ready to try a smoking cessation program again, consider implementing a pulmonary rehab-style exercise program such as the one described in our guide, Breathe Better for Life www.breathebetterforlife.com, in consultation with your physician. The exercise will benefit you whether you give up smoking or not and it appears the effects of regular exercise may ultimately improve your likelihood of smoking cessation success.
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