"As little as five minutes of exercise seems to help smokers curb their craving for a cigarette, a review of a dozen studies found.The research showed that moderate exercise, such as walking, significantly reduced the intensity of smokers' nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
"If we found the same effects in a drug, it would immediately be sold as an aid to help people quit smoking," said Dr. Adrian Taylor, the study's lead author and professor of exercise and health psychology at the University of Exeter.
Their hypothesis: "Nearly anything that distracts people from smoking is thought to help, but scientists have long suspected that exercise might have a more potent effect. Taylor theorized that exercise could produce the mood-enhancing hormone dopamine, which could, in turn, reduce smokers' nicotine dependence."
Sounds like it's time to teach exercise in smoking cessation programs.
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