Walk Away From Smoking

Quitting smoking isn’t a walk in the park. But taking a walk in the park may help you quit smoking.

A study presented Friday at the World Congress of Cardiology suggests that exercise can help you quit smoking and increase the chances you won’t resume your tobacco habit.

In this research, smokers who stayed active were found to be 55 percent more likely to quit smoking and 43 percent more likely to stay smoke-free.

Taking drags on cigarettes and being sedentary drags down your life expectancy. In contrast, ex-smokers who exercise can, on average, live five years longer.

“Exercise can help smokers to quit and quitting smoking has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of developing CVD (heart disease) and that must be the goal of all smokers,” says Dr. C.P. Wen of the National Health Research Institute, Taiwan. “If smokers can continue to exercise (and stay off cigarettes) they can reduce their mortality …”