Key takeaways
- Exercise: The shield against smoking's harmful effects on muscles.
- Regular workouts may slow COPD progression in smokers.
- Smoking remains a red-light health risk for athletes
- Smoking hampers heart, blood, lungs—impacts exercise effectiveness.
We all know that being active is good for us — it boosts energy, improves heart health, and keeps our muscles and bones strong as we age.
Smoking, on the other hand, is one of the most damaging habits for the body, harming the lungs, heart, blood vessels, and muscles.
This raises an important question: can regular exercise balance out some of the harm caused by smoking? In other words, what benefits might smokers still gain if they stay active?
Let’s explore how exercise may offer advantages for smokers and how it could play a role in quitting and long-term recovery.
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While smoking harms nearly every organ, physical activity has the power to support the body in key ways.
Smokers Who Exercise Regularly: The Benefits
When most people think about smoking’s effects, lung damage is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But smoking creates inflammation that extends beyond the lungs and into the circulatory system, straining the entire body.
This inflammation disrupts protein pathways, making it harder for the body to build and repair muscle. Over time, this can lead to weakness and muscle loss in many smokers.
The good news is that regular physical activity may help reduce this damage and keep muscles stronger. Exercise has been shown to lower inflammation and protect against some of smoking’s most harmful effects.
Exercise May Reduce Inflammation and Preserve Muscle Mass
A 2017 study in the American Journal of Physiology examined the impact of cigarette smoke on two groups of mice. One group exercised, while the other remained inactive.
The mice who exercised had significantly lower levels of inflammation than those who didn’t. Even though both groups lost muscle compared to smoke-free mice, endurance training appeared to slow or reverse the decline.
Exercise May Slow COPD Progression
Research from 2007 suggests that staying active may also reduce the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smokers who exercised at moderate to vigorous levels were 20% less likely to develop COPD than those who didn’t.
This finding highlights how physical activity can protect lung health even for those already exposed to cigarette smoke. It may not erase the risk, but it can make a measurable difference.
Exercise May Decrease Cancer Risk
Exercise may also help lower the risk of certain cancers among smokers. A study in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention tracked more than 7,000 smokers and ex-smokers and found lower cancer rates among those who exercised regularly.
In fact, smokers aged 54 to 62 who followed a consistent workout program had a 25% reduction in cancer-related deaths. Researchers believe that weight regulation may play a role in lowering this risk.
Obesity is linked to cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate, kidney, breast, and endometrium. Since smokers already face a higher risk of these diseases, extra weight makes the risk even greater.
Regular exercise helps manage body weight, which may reduce this added burden. For smokers, staying active can provide a layer of protection against multiple health threats.
Smoking Still Gets The Red Light
Of course, none of these studies suggest smoking should get a green light. No amount of exercise can truly offset the effects of tobacco use.
Regardless of your exercise regime, regular, sustained smoking elevates your risk of developing at least 19 different types of cancer and 7 forms of cardiovascular disease.
The systematic effects of smoking can also hinder your ability to exercise effectively.
Let’s take a look at why that is.
How Smoking Affects Your Ability to Exercise
While it’s clear that you’ll benefit from exercise if you smoke, the reality is that smoking significantly limits your ability to exercise effectively. This is due to the various impacts smoking has on the heart, blood, and lungs.
How Smoking Affects the Heart
Smoking increases your resting heart rate. This means that your heart is working harder to keep you going, even at rest.
So, if you engage in vigorous exercise, your already-elevated heart rate is at risk of rising to dangerous levels, which increases your likelihood of experiencing a heart attack.
How Smoking Affects the Blood
When you work out, blood flow helps to supply your muscles with oxygen, which they need to keep you moving.
The carbon monoxide and nicotine content in tobacco narrows your arteries and reduces blood flow throughout the body, therefore limiting the amount of oxygen your muscles receive.
When your muscles don’t get enough oxygen, they will begin to produce lactic acid, which is the substance that makes your muscles feel as though they are tired, burning, and sore.
In other words, the lack of blood flow caused by smoking hinders your ability to work out effectively.
How Smoking Affects the Lungs
Inhaling cigarette smoke damages the cilia, which are the fine hairlike structures that clear the lungs of dirt, debris, and toxins.
In addition to this, tar in cigarettes coats the lungs and reduces the elasticity of the air sacs within the lungs. These changes make breathing more challenging, particularly if you’re engaging in strenuous exercise.
Research has proven that smokers find it more difficult to exercise than nonsmokers.
Smokers:
- Benefited less from training
- Had lower muscle mass
- Were three times more likely to experience shortness of breath than non-smokers
- Were twice as likely to be injured
- Required more healing time when injured
Exercise and Quitting Smoking
One of the best things you can do for your health is quit smoking.
In a matter of hours, you will begin to see positive changes in your body, and your risk of developing life-threatening disease decreases significantly the longer you go without smoking.
So, how can exercise help with smoking cessation?
Does Exercise Help With Quitting Smoking?
The short answer is yes, exercise can help with quitting smoking.
A study in 2017 followed nicotine-dependent mice for two weeks, splitting them into three groups: mice that exercised for 24 hours a day, two hours a day, and not at all.
The nicotine-treated mice who did two or 24 hours of exercise had a significant reduction in withdrawal symptoms compared to the mice that didn’t exercise at all. Researchers also observed that exercise caused changes to the brain receptors responsible for mood disorders.
The results indicate that exercise can be very beneficial in individuals attempting to give up smoking by reducing withdrawal symptoms, which in turn prevents relapse.
The Benefits of Exercise When You Quit Smoking
So, what are the tangible benefits of exercising when you quit smoking? Exercise can be particularly helpful for
- Lowering stress levels – During the withdrawal phase, you may feel an increase in stress, restlessness, and anxiety. These symptoms will be most intense in the first few days after quitting and will reduce in intensity over a period of two to four weeks. Exercise can help to alleviate feelings of stress by stimulating the release of endorphins, which are essentially ‘feel-good’ hormones.
- Distracting you and reducing cravings – Exercise can help to distract you from thoughts of smoking by prompting you to focus on your body and the present moment.
- Keeping your body healthy – Weight gain is a common concern for people quitting smoking. While smoking can lead to weight loss, this isn’t healthy weight loss. In most cases, weight gain after smoking is a sign that your body is functioning properly again. Exercise will help you stay fit and healthy, as well as help regulate your hunger cues.
How Soon After Quitting Smoking Can I Exercise?
There’s no need to wait to resume exercise after quitting smoking. In fact, the sooner you start, the better!
Exercising will help to increase the capacity of your lungs and improve their ability to absorb oxygen. Though the lungs are very resilient and will begin to self-repair as soon as you stop smoking, you may struggle with coughing and shortness of breath during this recovery period.
It’s best to start off slow with some light daily walking. Aim for 10 to 20-minute blocks at least twice a day, and build up from there.
Gradually, you’ll be able to enjoy longer and more intense forms of exercise such as swimming, jogging, and gym sessions.
Key Takeaways
Some research has suggested that smokers who exercise regularly may have a reduced risk of muscle loss, inflammation, COPD progression, and cancer, compared to smokers who don’t exercise at all.
However, smoking limits your ability to work out effectively due to the impact tobacco has on the heart, blood, and lungs. It’s important to remember that no amount of exercise will truly offset the impacts of smoking, and the best thing you can do for your immediate and long-term health is quit smoking.
Exercise may assist with smoking cessation by stimulating the release of endorphins and reducing withdrawal symptoms such as stress and cravings.
While quitting can be a challenging process, having the right support and strategies can make a real difference.
And that’s where we can help the most.
Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around!
If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to friendly Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good, including via the use of pharmacy NVPs.