Running group helps half its graduates quit smoking
This shows that physical activity can be a successful smoking-cessation aid and that a community-based program might offer that. Because doing it on your own is very difficult," said Carly Priebe, postdoctoral fellow in UBC's school of kinesiology and lead author of the study. One hundred and sixty-eight smokers from across Canada registered for the 2016 Run to Quit program at Running Room stores, and 72 of them stuck it out until the final week, when 37 participants had their claims of quitting verified by carbon-monoxide testing. The number of successful quitters held up during follow-up interviews six months later. The group that finished the program also included 91 per cent who reported reducing their smoking. The weekly sessions included classroom time divided between running instruction and strategies for quitting smoking, plus an outdoor walking/running component that progressed toward a five-kilometre run. Participants had access throughout the program to one-o...