The efficacy of physical activity as an aid to smoking cessation

One over two smokers who smokes all his lifetime will die from a disease related to tobacco use. Tobacco smoking is the primary cause of avoidable death in the world. Medications have an important role in smoking cessation, but physical activity, as well as improving health generally may also represent an important non-pharmacological therapy to help people to stop smoking. The aim of this review was to evaluate the use of physical activity as an aid for smoking cessation and maintaining abstinence. We included 17 randomized controlled trials where the main objective was stopping smoking, and which included at least a six-month follow-up of participants. At the end of this review, only 4 trials revealed a benefit of physical activity on smoking cessation; two of them did not show any persistent benefit after the end of the exercise program. On the basis of this, physical activity cannot itself be considered as a way to help stopping smoking. The heterogeneity among studies summarized in this review was an important methodological bias. However, there is strong evidence that physical activity reduces withdrawal symptoms, craving, negative affect and weight gain during smoking cessation. Advice to practice physical activity should therefore be incorporated into smoking cessation programs. (C) 2015 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.