The effects of smoking on exercise performance.

Abstract

Tobacco use, especially cigarette smoking, re­ mains a prominent health issue among both teen­ agers and adults. In a 1994 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report)l] an estimated 37.5 million Americans were considered 'daily smokers'. Among high school seniors, daily cigarette smok­ ing prevalence was 19%. Similar findings were reported in a recent survey of II 248 US high school students;!2] 20% of adolescents were considered 'regular' smokers, who smoked 5 to 15 days or more in a 30-day period. In addition to being a public health problem, cigarette smoking has been noted to affect exercise performance.f3-5 ) Research has primarily focused on 2 compounds in cigarette smoke: carbon mon­ oxide (CO) and nicotine.!6) Both have been well documented with respect to their influence on per­ formance.[7-IO) However, other chemical compounds in cigarette smoke may also playa role. This article presents research concerning the effects of ciga­ rette smoke on exercise performance. The physio­ logical effects of CO and nicotine are also in­ cluded.