TREATING TOBACCO DEPENDENCE IN WOMEN WITH EXERCISE: REVIEW ON EFFECTIVENESS AND MECHANISMS

Annually, tobacco-related illnesses claim the lives of millions of women worldwide. Women have more difficulty in quitting than men, and smokers in general are more physically inactive than nonsmokers-further contributing to morbidity and mortality. Exercise represents a treatment option that may be particularly suitable for women trying to quit smoking. It may address several known barriers to cessation by promoting emotional well-being and maintenance of healthy body weight and by providing a socially supportive environment. Further, exercise participation is inversely related to other cardiovascular risk factors. Currently, there is a paucity of research testing the effectiveness of exercise as an aid for smoking cessation. Methodological flaws have plagued many of these studies and adherence to exercise interventions has been poor. This paper reviews effectiveness of exercise in treating tobacco dependence in women, including findings from published and ongoing clinical trials. Consequently, several relationships and hypothesized mechanisms between exercise and smoking cessation are discussed. Given the widely established benefits of exercise on women's health, and lack of adequate exercise trials for women smokers, further research is warranted regarding the potential role of exercise as treatment and the harm reduction intervention in the field of tobacco dependence.