Combo of exercise and nicotine therapy ensures smokers quit

Researchers in Austria have found a way for people to quit smoking.

They say using a combination of either nicotine gum or transdermal patches and exercise makes it more likely that smokers will quit.

The combo they say offers a better chance of smokers kicking the habit and even those who failed to quit completely managed to cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoked.

In a study conducted at the Otto Wagner Hospital and the Lainz Hospital in Austria, researchers worked with 68 smokers for a three month period.

The group were randomly placed in one of two treatment programs that included exercise and nicotine replacement therapy or only nicotine replacement therapy.

At the end of the three months, 80 percent of those who exercised had quit smoking, while only 52 percent of those in the group that did not exercise had quit.

The researchers also found that those who had exercised were more likely to reduce their cigarette smoking if they did not quit and also scored better in tests measuring respiratory health.

Dr. Ralf Zwick and colleagues at Otto Wagner Hospital in Vienna say that combining exercise training together with nicotine replacement therapy is a feasible option and aids smoking cessation.

The researchers presented their findings at the CHEST 2006 meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Salt Lake City.