Can you "clean up" with a good workout if you're a smoker? It's a common misconception, but one that's been refuted by research into the effects of tobacco on our bodies. No: exercise does not cleanse the lungs. But while it's not recommended to combine smoking and physical activity, sport alone can be a valuable aid to quitting smoking.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Do you "clean up" with a good workout if you're a smoker? It's a common misconception, but one that's been refuted by research into the effects of tobacco on our bodies. No: exercise does not cleanse the lungs. But while it is not recommended to combine smoking and physical activity, sport alone can be a valuable aid to quitting smoking.
Despite the obvious decline in popularity of cigarettes in recent decades (Evin law, anti-smoking campaigns...), smoking is still the second leading cause of death worldwide, with over 6 million deaths every year. In France, one in four people said they smoked every day in 2020, according to a Santé publique France survey. Although smoking rates have been falling in recent years, they have been rising again since 2020. As for the addictive and dangerous chemical substances contained in cigarette smoke, they have not decreased: there are over 4,000 of them, the main ones being carbon monoxide, tar, nicotine, ammonia, acetone, methanol, cadmium and benzopyrenes.
Contrary to popular belief, physical activity of any kind does not eliminate any of the toxic substances inhaled by smokers. As this article in Le Figaro Santé points out, "not only are smokers exposed to the same risks as all other smokers (cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory failure, etc.), but they also add to the complications associated with their sporting activities by disrupting the oxygen supply to the muscles, heart and lungs". Smoking before, during or after an intense sports session is traumatic for the body, which suffers a severe oxygen deficit. Beyond these complications, even moderate smoking simply limits sporting performance.
While sport cannot protect smokers from the harmful effects of cigarettes, it can be a major ally in smoking cessation. Physical exercise makes it easier to stop smoking, and reduces the side-effects. The vicious circle of turning to tobacco at the slightest opportunity (hunger, stress, craving...) is transformed into a virtuous circle.
Gradually, the effects of quitting smoking are combined with those of sport: improved breathing, better sleep, improved physical condition, greater well-being and better health in general, all of which make it possible to both improve performance and enjoy the practice. This year's theme for World No Tobacco Day is "Tobacco: a threat to our environment". Could this be the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by swapping the car for the bike, and reap the ecological and sporting benefits?