Exercise enhances the maintenance of smoking cessation in women

Bess H. Marcus, Anna E. Albrecht, Raymond S. Niaura, Elaine R. Taylor, Laurey R. Simkin, Susan I. Feder, David B. Abrams, Paul D. Thompson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We examined the effects of physical exercise on smoking relapse. Twenty previously sedentary female smokers were randomly assigned to smoking cessation plus exercise or smoking cessation with frequency contact control. The smoking cessation program included 12 professionally led sessions over 12 weeks. Exercise treatment included three supervised exercise sessions per week for 15 weeks. Contact control included three women's health/wellness lectures per week for 15 weeks. Smoking abstinence was validated by carbon monoxide and saliva cotinine. Mean exercise attendance for exercise subjects was 88% with an increase in estimated VO2 of 25%. The percentage of subjects who quit for 24 hours was 80% for the exercise and 90% for the contact group. One subject in the contact group remained abstinent at the end of the 12-week treatment and at 1-, 3-, and 12-month follow-ups, whereas three subjects in the exercise group were abstinent at these time points. These results suggest that exercise training improves short-term quit rates and may prove a useful strategy for long-term maintenance of smoking cessation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)87-92
Number of pages6
JournalAddictive Behaviors
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Toxicology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Exercise enhances the maintenance of smoking cessation in women'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this