156 replies to this topic

[Ultraphil]

WAs surprised to see one of the placegetters in the smaller distance at Canberra this morning, having a smoke before he started!   Are there any other smokers out there that run and run well? If so - your dammed lucky that your lungs are still going!

Phil

[Pud]

I don't howver.  A very good fell runner I know in the UK still smokes (he would be in his 50's) from memory he does marathon in about 3.5hrs.

Personally I think it is a bad smelly habit and whats worse has negative effects on health

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

Herb Elliott ran a national junior record of 1:55.7 for the half mile and 4:20.8 for the mile during his tobacco-fueled days.

His smoking admissions are detailed in the biography 'The Golden Mile' written by Alan Trengove (Cassel & Company Ltd, 1961)when Herb recounts being caught smoking by many of the brothers from time to time at Aquinas College in W.A. (at pg.22).

[Cirque]

Phil
I went for a re-assessment at the gym the other day and the appointment card they gave me had a comment along the lines of "in order for the assessment to be as accurate as possible please don't smoke for an hour prior to attending".
I was absolutely dumbfounded that anyone would pay all that money for gym membership and put in all the effort involved and then deliberately sabotage themselves.
That said, I have mentioned in another thread that I used to run with someone who usually had a cigarette while we doing our warm up and cool down walk, and I would struggle to keep up with her while we were running.

[casper]

Each to his own... my brother in law runs and smokes.He's about a 40 to 42 min 10km runner and a good swimmer.Some may say running is a bad habit too.

[Uncle Dave]

In the transaustralia footrace of 2001, there was a bloke from Hawaii called Kawika Spalding who would begin each daily stage walking while rolling his own. He wouldn't start running until he'd rolled it and smoked it.

He didn't finish the race (though he lasted a few more days than I did) but he had previously completed the trans America footrace, so he had a fair bit of street cred.

[Ultraphil]

Yep - definitely each to their own!  Think it's just infuriating when I have to work so dammed hard to get anywhere in the sport, then see one of the good runners having a fag before he starts!  I dont have very big bronchial tubes (been diagnosed with getting asthma like symptoms). Then  see people having a smoke or two and running with no probs at all!  Guess I have to accept this body I have!

Phil

[axa]

quote:

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Some may say running is a bad habit too.  

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Ehh... I wouldn't quite put running and smoking in the same category of bad habbits.

But anyway, I've seen a lot of people smoke right after gym. It does leave me dumbfounded but I suppose those people aren't there for health reasons as much as for keeping the body looking good.

[Owly]

I have always found it fascinating that a couple of close friends of mine like to go hiking for several hours in the lovely fresh air and then roll up (a cigarette and/or a joint) and undo all that good work.  Suppose the same could be said of running.

[Bellthorpe]

I'm not following some of the logic in this thread.

Surely having a walk/jog and a smoke/joint is healthier than having a smoke/joint but not going for a walk/jog?

[Sawadee]

I used to work with a bloke who smoked and ran! A sub 3 marathon runner I believe!
I asked him what effect smoking had on his running! His reply was that smoking restricted his breathing and had the same effect as altitude training at 1500m above sea level.  :unsure:  
That seemed to justify his smoking. Maybe he is correct.  :rolleyes:

[KevinCassidy]

Phil,
In your capacity as historian of the Sydney to Melbourne race, I thought you would have been aware that the race was won in two particular years [seven years apart] by two individuals who were "15 a day" men.

Also, some 15 years ago, I bumped into one of Melbourne's best distance runners of the time at a shopping centre and she was most embarrassed by the fact that I caught her in the act of having a puff.  She swore me to secrecy of her 10 a day habit as she didn't want her equally prominant distance running husband to know.......

Exactly how you would hide the vile smell of a smokers breath from your spouse remains a mystery to me

[lactatehead]

I know someone who ran the 3000m steeplechase at the Olympics and he was a bit of a smoker. I am an ex smoker who gave up as soon as I started running but I have had the odd lapse. Most of us agree that smoking is pretty revolting and it not very healthy but lets not forget that some people become addicted to running and that is not very healthy (mental health) either.

[Colac]

My Grandfather died at about 94, and he chewed tobacco all his life.

This raises an interesting question ? Is tobacco (per se) really bad for you, or is it the burning heat that alters the tobacco and releases 2,000 toxic substances that causes the probem.

Burn some plastic bags and the chemical gases escape causing toxic problems.

If you use one of those tar collection filters to collect tar from a burning cigarette, the tar collected from just one cigarette will kill a mouse in 40 seconds if you put it its mouth with an eye dropper.  

If you let the mouse chew on a cigarette, I don't think it would die, because they chew some strange things and survive.  They even like to drink toilet juice from the sewers.

Now ATKINS reckoned HEATING was a bad thing.  

Cooking food softens the cells so that the nutrients can be released and more easily digested.

ATKINS reckoned fat was okay until you heated it, and he believed that the processed fats and vegatable oils is what is knocking people off before their genetic time to visit God.

I have let smokers use my heart monitor, and they register about 100 bpm within a few secs of their first puff.  

Sandy Barwick ran 100's of kms at 100 bpm Heart rate. Compare this with one puff on a cigarette.

Has anyone proved that chewing tobacco is bad for you.  It encouraged a lot of spitting, so I would not recommend it's revival -

but is it an alternative to someone who can't kick the smoking habit ?

Would it taste the same in the mouth ?

Nothing to inhale, so you might still be able to run fast without emphasemia risks.

Is Atkins right about this heat thing changing molecule structure to the detriment of health?  

Is heat the secret killer that is f..... the world up ?

Has anyone tried chewing tobacco ?

ATKINS did more blood test checks on his patients than any other researcher in the world.  

He could prove the chloresterol and bad things in the blood had reduced the longer they
were on the diet even though they were eating large amounts of fat and protein.

[Ultraphil]

Thanks for that Kev.  One learns something new every day!  I did know about the one particular runner that smoked...sam one that had led a very sheltered/protected life for a few years!

Phil

[uriah]

What an amazing bunch of responses.    :)  

Some runners/athletes can perform well despite what they do to their bodies, for a while.

Some people smoke all their life, perform hard manual labour and live to a ripe old age, these individuals are at the very end of the standard distribution curve.  Although we seem hear about them all the time but, there are very, very few.

Most people that breathe tobacco smoke will register (consciously or not) a deleterious affect on their health.  It will range across a population from shortness of breath or aerobic performance to premature death by lung cancer or heart disease.  For what's it's worth tobacco chewers experience mouth and throat cancer in more numbers than smokers.  Smokers mostly have lung cancer and heart disease to contend with.

Cooking with heat and the Atkin's diet has got nothing to do with smoking.  If (animal or vegetable) fat is burnt it will contain carcinogens.  This will provide an extra load on the body's ability to stay healthy.  Rancid fat is no good to digest either.  There are many threads on this website about why Aktins diet with low carbs are not good for runners, the warnings of death are remote but real.  It seems that Atkins' experiments were conducted to support his theories, not to test them.  Thesis but no hypotheses, nor synthesis.

The human body has an incredible ability to withstand a barrage of unhealthy (read unexpected and unwelcome) contaminants.  But we can only take so much for so long.  For most contaminants - dose makes the poison; that is the more we have the worse it gets.  With cancer causing contaminants "carcinogens" it is more of a gamble.  That's why there is no scientifically calculable safe dose.  When a sample of say 1 000 000  smokers is studied it reveals that some will get cancer, some will get sick, some will make it through with depleted ability and some will get away with it.  But you won't know until the experiment is over.  The hope of staying healthy in the presence of smoke is like trying to win Tattslotto.

I have never seen or read any scientific evidence to suggest that someone ran better or faster because they smoked.

Comparing running and smoking is bunkum.

I think running is harder to give up.

[Gefjam]

Interesting topic.

When i first started running i used to smoke. In fact, i used to run to earn my cigarettes (stupid i know).

It did not slow me down that much, but it didn't do me any favours. Mind you, i wasn't running that fast.

Smokers tend to cop a lot, but the best description i heard of why someone smokes was from my mate who said "I smoke because it's the only thing i can do to take away the urge to smoke". Most smokers hate smoking a lot more than non smokers do, and they still want to participate in activities just like everyone else.

Basically it is incredibly difficult to quit. The addiction for the majority of people i know is primarily psychological, and often you have to give up a whole range of activities when you quit smoking (drinking, going to bars, hanging out with mates who smoke, going to places you used to smoke, driving your car with the windows down). For a lot of people this means giving up their social activities for at least the first few weeks. Even many months after quitting, the urge to smoke was still there when i was in a situation i had previously smoked.

I have quit running before (obviously not successfully as here i am), but i managed to train myself back into it. Smoking doesn't require the same level of dedication (at least not for me). I reckon if i smoked two nights in a row now, i'd be back to it, and i would still want to run.

The two are certainly not mutually exclusive, but running does show up a lot of the destructive physical impact of smoking. It definately made the quitting process easier for me.

[runrtom]

Great input Uriah,

Agree with everything you have said and maybe you will convince someone to quit, although I doubt it.  You can't smoke and be intelligent at the same time!  Not with all the research about the deleterious effects of smoking on your health. Not to mention the 000's of $$$ a year. And still some people reckon that they look COOL smoking. Ignorance is bliss - there will always be uneducated and ignorant people.

[blacksheep]

There is the age factor to consider here, too.  I took up smoking about the same time Gefjam was born.  I gave up after both parents died at 62 _ Dad after 35 plus years of smoking, Mum after 30 years of living with him smoking around her. My wife suffers my running addiction but I can wear that a little better than her suffering lung disease due to my selfishness.
Yes, it's quite amazing that people can run and smoke at the same time but, like the contortionist who can dislocate both elbows in order to say hello to his own bum, I think it's best to consider them stupendously gifted but singularly stupid.

[fitsmoker]

Not all smokers are 'uneducated, ignorant, or stupid'. Some of the world’s greatest minds were smokers. An affliction, a barely noteworthy habit, yes. A sin, no.

I enjoy my weekend long run and post-run cigarette and latte in equal measure. Like most modern smokers, I sit away from others and exercise my legal right to smoke with the utmost consideration. I do not smoke where others can breathe my plumes.

Smoking seems to be a great killer, but I can live with that. I do plenty to keep my body in good shape (I won't be smoking on City to Surf race morning). I fear for the health of those who subsist on fast food and grow spherical, but I keep my fears to myself.

It is weak and unacceptable to self-righteously unload fears and failings on those of differing faith, creed or habits. Intolerance is the root of conflict, a fact some contributors here may like to reflect upon.

[plu]

This thread has reminded me of the Gold Coast Marathon this year .  

At 26 km two runners  (and they were runners in the marathon with numbers)lit up a smoke at 26km mark.....

The Cool running Cheers squad looked on in amazement.

Plu

[fitsmoker]

Now thats a hoot!

Cheers

[royworlds]

Smoking and running is better than just smoking.
I ran my fastest city to surf time after smoking the day before... The urge to get it all over and have a post ciggie probably spurred me on.
Getting bronchitis all the time plays havoc on a training schedule though.

[penny b]

We were amazed during 2000 comrades to see someone light up halfway up a hill that he had resorted to walking up (along with most of us). Good reason for abit of a rest I guess with only 50 or so kms to go!!!!

[42.195]

The world record holder for the most test wickets in cricket smokes - but don't take a photo of him while he's doing it.
When Dad played footy I remember some of his team mates smoking at half time, including two players who went on to Captain/Coach the club, both winning best and fairests (and one of them the league best and fairest).
I don't smoke, and think it is a foul and disgusting habit. However, it is not against the law and smokers are treated more harshly than most sections of the community. Cigarettes are taxed higher than petrol (and probably any other substance) - I wonder what would happen if alcohol was taxed at the same rate?
As long as smokers don't smoke in my house or anywhere near me I don't mind them. However, if anyone ever wants to go and eliminate all the bingo playing smokers who congregate in front of the Werribee Library between bingo sessions, be my guest. Borrowing and reading books should not lead to possible cancer from passive smoking.  :angry:

[Digger]

Penny,

I took a photo of that Dude on the top of Inchanga(unless there were two), and after he finished his smoke, he ran right on past me!!

Pus back in the early 1980's I had a mate who used to run the Melb Marathon, and have someone waiting at Halfway with his smokes(a 3-45 runner), when he gave up smoking he became a sub3-30 runner

[Virtual]

All,

Apart from the misinformed young and the low IQ, smoking is not regarded as fashionable.

Plenty of athletes smoke.  Some do well but all will die sooner than they should.  Brendan

[JC]

Colac,
It's not the heat that somehow makes the tobacco bad.  You can easily get tobacco poisoning just by helping to harvest it. Your 'baccy chewing grandfather was very fortunate not to get cancer of the mouth, tongue or throat.  That is the largest risk from that sort of usage.

Steer clear if you can!

JC

[vat]

quote:

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Originally posted by fitsmoker:
Not all smokers are 'uneducated, ignorant, or stupid'. Some of the world’s greatest minds were smokers. An affliction, a barely noteworthy habit, yes.....

...It is weak and unacceptable to self-righteously unload fears and failings on those of differing faith, creed or habits. Intolerance is the root of conflict, a fact some contributors here may like to reflect upon...

---

I really try to stay out of these threads when they come up on forums, for reasons that will become apparent.

fitsmoker - I come from a family, both sides of which generally have a pretty good track record
on the longevity side....except for the smokers.

Both of my parents smoked.  Both died of smoking related cancers when they were 59, Dad six weeks after being diagnosed in 1997, Mum after a near two year battle in 2002.  I concede I'm probably not coming at this from a neutral point of view.

I don't have a habit that makes your clothes smell after a visit to the pub.  I don't have a habit that puts smoke in your face unbidden the moment you exit the station after a train trip.  I don't have a habit that puts thousands of cigarette butts into the harbour every time it rains.  I don't have a habit that affects others who have made the choice not to smoke via  passive smoking.

Every time I see someone light up, or deal with stinking clothes after going to the pub, or cop that faceful of smoke, I'm reminded of my parents.

If you only smoke in the privacy of your home, dispose of your butts correctly, and don't affect others, then fine, what you do in your own time is your own business.  I suspect you're in a very small minority.

But having seen both parents go through the terminal stages of smoking cancers, and seen one go through the sword of Damocles treatment of chemo and radiotherapy, mate, why would you even risk it?  Why would you risk putting your kids through seeing you go through that?

[frankie]

smokers have a disgraceful habbit, where i work all the smokers in one area have a smoke together while the non smokers in that area keep on working. Smokers shiuld lose pay every time they go and sit on there arse for 5 mins. Im looking forward to the day where smokos in the workplace are banned.

[lostboy]

Vat,

I don't think I've seen it put better. (My father was a 40-day man @ one stage, & I have never had the urge myself.)

I wonder if it's on the increase though....It seems to me that younger women may be taking to it with a vengeance these days.

[Griffo]

I have never smoked, but if people want to smoke - let em smoke. It is a free country and it is not illegal. No point in getting all preachy about it as all of us have some habits we wish we didn't.

People who smoke are not stupid, ignorant or uneducated. They know what it is doing to them, but can't or don't want to stop. I gave up years ago trying to convince other to quit, cause they wont unless they want to. However, once someone decides to quit I will give them my full support.

[Crackers]

I wonder if the people who run and smoke are related to those who wash down their Big Macs with a Diet Coke??    :)

[lostboy]

or watch Big Brother

[Obi-Wan]

Good point Griffo, I don't smoke myself but would love to be smokin'!!

[Bouncer]

People who smoke MUST be stupid, even if they aren't ignorant.  I work in a relatively small hospital  where biweekly we hold twelve hour plus operations on smokers to remove their mandibles, tongues, and half their throats.  We replace them with varying body parts from fibula bone to forearm muscle.  The age of these smokers varies - the youngest was a (previously)very pretty girl in her early twenties, now wearing her leg as her jaw.  These patients are often left with tracheostomies.  The stupidest thing i saw one lunchtime was one of our 16 hour operative patients, after having spent months in ICU and rehab learning how to function again, sitting in the courtyard smoking through his tracheostomy!!  This man knows what smoking did to him!! He spent a month not being able to smoke because of being confined to bed, and hence battling the early difficult stages of quitting by enforced cold turkey methods.  Yet first opportunity he got to be independent again was spent puffing on his cigarettes - not simply enjoying the sunshine or fresh air out of a hospital room, being thankful he was alive.  Now tell me smokers aren't dumb?

[Damon . H.]

quote:

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Originally posted by Crackers:
I wonder if the people who run and smoke are related to those who wash down their Big Macs with a Diet Coke??     :)  

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Believe it or not I use to smoke. I smoked a packet a day. They were Peter jacksons 20's. On top of that I ate Macdonalds more than 3 times a week and washed it back with a coke. In fact I was drinking coke every day.

Believe it or not I was running marathons in 2hrs 30 to 35mins, 10kms in 31 - 32mins, 5kms in under 15mins.

[malleyDuck]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bouncer:
People who smoke MUST be stupid, even if they aren't ignorant.  I work in a relatively small hospital  where biweekly we hold twelve hour plus operations on smokers to remove their mandibles, tongues, and half their throats.  We replace them with varying body parts from fibula bone to forearm muscle.  The age of these smokers varies - the youngest was a (previously)very pretty girl in her early twenties, now wearing her leg as her jaw.  

---

This is the sort of graphic information that should be part of anti-smoking campaigns. Compared to the one that shows tar being squeezed out of a lung this sort of information might make people really sit up and listen. Although, having said that, many people believe that science and medicine will come to their rescue no matter what stupid things they continue to do to their bodies.

[Corsta]

Yo Damon - are you taking the piss bro?  Another Ryan Bayley hey?  What about smokers who drop their butts on the ground?  I always say to them ( I see the filthy bastards do it all the time) something along the lines of "You dropped your butt!".  I suggest other cool runners do the same, even yell at them, in theory they aren't going to catch you because you are way too fast, unless it's Damon back on the burners.  Seriously though, it makes my blood boil when I see a smoker drop a butt on the ground!

[smokeandrun]

Some of the issues on this thread; Issue 1; how does smoking damage or affect a runners performance.
Issue 2; smoking and running can both be  habits.
Issue 3; are smoking and running heading in the oppisite direction healthwise.

Issue 3 The answer is clearly yes especially in the longterm as a general rule, although for some its not as obvious, and it depends what and how much and for how long runners smoke as well.

Issue 2;
Runners tend to be addicted to runners high? endorphins ?  and the other good health effects both physiologically and psychologically.
Smokers tend to be addicted to nicotine both physiologically and psychologically.

What Ive read is;
Issue 1; The CO (Carbon monoxide) in cigarettes combines with chemicals in the muscles to form carboxalic acid or something. so the more CO a smoking runner has in the system the more they will struggle particularly in shorter races where the anearobic threshold is reached quicker.

I think it restricts the ability of the heamoglobin to deliver oxygen to the muscles properly, so a bit like an extra dose of lactic acid in the end? (the same thing could happen running in the city with lots of cars or smog where CO levels from car exhaust fumes are high)

If the runner stays in the aerobic zone (HR's under 140-170 usually)then its not such an issue. which is why ultra runners get away with it more because they remain in aerobic zone. also since its the amount of CO that affects the running performance, the less of that the better.Herb Elliott is surprising since he would be in the aneorobic zone a lot. However I think he would have been better if he didnt smoke.

Ive read in an exercise physiology textbook (McCardle Katch & Katch) that someone who stops smoking 24 hours b4 a race improves their cardiorespiratory a lot. they did a study on it I think where one group of smokers stopped smoking 24 hours b4 race and the other group did not.

Because a smokers brain tends to slow down when they dont get their nicotine fix if they dont stop smoking in the 24 hours b4 they are better off to smoke b4 race and during a long race over 2 hours to stay mentally alert,although the endorphins kick in during the race.

Its about maintaining body balance. A smoker has to either stop smoking 12-24 hours before a race, keep smoking right through or become a non-smoker. It doesnt help people to keep wildly swinging the chemical makeup of their body around all over the place because they are doing activities which are heading in oppisite directions healthwise. Caffeine is a stimulant used by many athletes and I think Nicotine might have some of the same effects.

Every time someone smokes they are damaging their lungs and also restricted the oxygen transfer through the airways so smoking does make it harder to run. How much depends on a lot of factors and the bad effects in the short term are a lot smaller over longer distances.

Just for the record I smoke and also run under 50 minutes for a 10km and have run marathons in the 3.40 to 4.40 range. I know I would be a better runner if I did not smoke but I don't want to stop at the moment, its too much hassle, and if I did I know from experience I'd prbably not last long.

I'd be a lot unhealthier if I didn't run, and I'd smoke more if I didn't run. Being a better runner might one day become one of the reasons I stop smoking.

[SpartaJen]

quote:

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Originally posted by malleyDuck:
  

quote:

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Originally posted by Bouncer:
People who smoke MUST be stupid, even if they aren't ignorant.  I work in a relatively small hospital  where biweekly we hold twelve hour plus operations on smokers to remove their mandibles, tongues, and half their throats.  We replace them with varying body parts from fibula bone to forearm muscle.  The age of these smokers varies - the youngest was a (previously)very pretty girl in her early twenties, now wearing her leg as her jaw.  

---

This is the sort of graphic information that should be part of anti-smoking campaigns.

---

Regulations were passed last year regarding changes to the health warnings appearing on tobacco packaging which will be phased in over the next 9 months. I don't smoke so I don't know if any of the manufacturers have introduced the new packaging yet - but from now on, the standard written health warnings will be replaced with some rather graphic images/photos which can be seen here (warning: don't eat while viewing these): new tobacco health warnings

Interestingly, while some of the images turned my stomach, a quick survey of the smokers in my office revealed that the new health warnings didn't cause them to think about quitting. Maybe they aren't graphic enough ?

[smokeandrun]

This thread reminds me of an old story I read once about Perkins,Passmore & Pugh who of course were smokers and the "bad guys" in an student feud with Horsie and Cowie. Perkins was promised a porsche or the equivalent in those days by his parents if he won the interschool mile race but was too busy smoking with the other "sweet peas" that he ended up losing a race he should have won. A bit of prose from the story I think written by horsie and cowie sums it up;

"with the mile in the bag Perkins puffed at a fag and pickled his internal workins"

[Gasher]

Almost 20 years ago I was smoking about 25 a day but was still quite active, lots of surfing & swimming & a little running.

Used to swim 1k & 2k on alternate days, no real program at all just dive in & swim as fast as I could for the distance. For the life of me I couldn't break 17mins for the km. I pushed myself until I was almost puking & still the 17min barrier remained.

One day I stopped smoking. The swimming routine remained the same but the results were drastically different. 18hrs after my last smoke 16:45/k & within 6 weeks I was down to 15:30/k.

If you can run well & still smoke you'll kill it if you piss the 'bungers' off   B)

[Running Nicho]

I think vat put it best. The biggest negative about smoking is the way it affects others and the environment.

I never had grandparents on my mums side because of smoking and it is an experience that was to my detriement.  My grandma died of a heart attack at 50 and my grandfather had his first at 40.  

Studying anatomy as part of my physio course I have seen the real lungs of smokers and I can tell you they are grose.  The adds do not embelish the photos at all.  They do turn black and disgusting and the arteries filled with tar look and feel worse!

My other great concern is that of the health care system.  As a physiotherapist I will more than likely have to do cardiopulmonary physiotherapy on  emphasema patients at the public's expense.  Running does not cost this much to the taxpayer.  Smokers may argue that they contribute alot in taxes but what they forget to acknowledge is that the health costs just about balance out the taxes and the fact there is a limited supply of medical professionals.  There is a shortage of every type of medical professional.  Why should someone who has abused themselves take up the hospital beds and the services that could be given to people whose illness is no fault of their own!!

In terms of running and smoking I think you are also cutting yourself short.  One thing I like about the running community is the lack of smoking that goes on.  It is pretty tough for me to get where I am why would I spoil it by smoking and why should you.  

My main point is that of the effect on others. When those who smoke next go to light up, think of the grandkids who might not know you or if they do will have to see you dieing of a terrible illness that was TOTALLY preventable, the poor patient who in 20 years time will suffer because there aren't enough doctors to go around because you've taken them, the other family members who just will have to nurse you through your final, long herendous years of emphasema and the like as well as those who have to put up with the smell (yes it hangs around even when you don't have one in your hand).  Think instead about quiting!

[Running Aces]

I am 20 years old and I have been smoking on and off since I was 15. Back when I was 15 I was breaking school and zone records and winning just about every 400m and 800m race I was in. Then I got a part time job at Hungry Jacks and the smoking began (still astounds me that managers/assistant managers of these fast food restaurants that target hiring teenagers allow for smoking breaks - this is not an excuse for myself starting thought it was my own stupidity). I smoked around 30-40 cigarettes a week and my worst point was in year 11 at high school where I was running off with mates to have a ciggy between every class. After smoking for a year or so I had dropped out (or was kicked out) of the school athletics team, I was dropped from the seniors football side and I was stripped of my captaincy of the seniors cricket team. I started to put on weight and lose interest in running.

The way cigarettes affected my health was nothing compared to the way it affected my lifestyle. I lost respect and was labelled as a 'has-been' at the age of 18. This was severely detrimental to me and I knew it was time to kick it. I stopped smoking 'full-time' when I was 18 and to this day I have not smoked ONE cigarette when I am sober. But when I drink the cravings come on 100 times more powerful than any other time - don't ask me why. I hope someone can help me out with this. So the past two years I have been smoking only when drinking which is usually once a week. Now if the damage hadn't been done, I think this wouldn't be all that bad. But because I had been smoking for three years before this it was like I was starting to get a little bit fitter and healthy come saturday then I would blow it away again - literally - on saturday night.

Until about 3 weeks ago I couldn't seem to find a way to curb this. But then I had the idea of a lifetime! STOP DRINKING...    ;)  

I haven't had any alcohol in three weeks and have had ZERO cigarettes. Now I took up running again (once a day for forty minutes) about 5 months ago. And this past three weeks I think my fitness has released the shackles and I am feeling better than ever when I run.

I guess my point is - it is highly ignorant to say smoking is my choice and I choose to do it and I will accept the consequences to my health - because it affects more than just health. It affects your family and friends- don't I know it. I think I am lucky I am taking control now when I am so young and still have a chance at regaining full health and vitality.

[RO]

Some figures to consider.  One wonders what smoking ilnesses cost the healthcare system directly - does the huge amount of revenue received from smokers compensate for this?  What about alcohol abuse and binge drinking, obesity, bad parenting, single mothers?

Revenue attributable to tobacco products collected by the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO’s) Excise Business Line (EBL) in 2000–01 totalled A$4.8 billion, ($5.09 billion estimated for 2003-04) which accounted for 24 per cent of total excise collections in that year. Reference: Excise Duty (Accessed December 2004)  http://www.anao.gov....sf/Publications
/4A256AE90015F69BCA256BCF00808510.

Government revenue from excise duty on tobacco products is expected to total $5.2b in 2004–05. Reference: (Costello P. Budget Paper No 1. Budget Strategy and Outlook: Statement 5: Revenue, in Budget 2004-05: Budget Paper No. 1. 2004: Canberra. Table 3: Commonwealth General Government Revenue Estimates.)

[ingrid]

Interesting thread.
I do believe in free choice etc.
I do detest cigarettes personally, however I think that as runners we should have some insight into addictive behaviour!!!
Im studying nursing and am fairly shocked at how many nursing students and nurses themselves smoke, ( I would hazard a guess that it's more than 50%) even after seeing the effects on their patients.
I remember sitting with a smoker friend watching one of those graphic health warning TV ads come on, do you know what she said. "That ad stresses me out so bad, I need a cigarette!"
  A few years ago, I did the Annapurna trek in Nepal, and when we climbed the pass, a few of my trekking companions actually lit up, even though that is pretty dangerous at that altitude.
Addiction is incredibly powerful.

[smokeandrun]

Running Aces;
I think when you drink alcohol you have less inhibitions, less self control over things, and you may have a mental association in the brains schemas that connects smoking activities with alcohol activities, since parties and pubs often have both these activities together So many people associate their smoking mentally with their alcohol use, plus the alcohol use environment can be rather smoky and then their is the reduced inhibitions an effect of alcohol use.

I think graphic ads might be good in that they make a smoker like me think about potential long-term consequences, of smoking too much, for a long time.

But since you can get cancer from the chemicals in your shampoo, and a lot of other things it isnt as blanket a truth as its made out to be.

Many smokers Dont get cancer, plus many of the other "graphic outcomes" are result of a large amount of bad lifetyle choices for example no exercise (which RUNNING counteracts), poor eating,poor dental care, drug and alcohol abuse and so on, so in many cases the smoking is only one contributing factor in my opinion so if the rest of the persons lifestyle is good, and they are running the only real worry is cancer. Cancer can be caused by many things so having graphic ads doesnt achieve that much.  

There should be ads like alcohol is a health hazard on all places where alcohol is sold.  
Also I would love to see all the broken glass from alcohol users taken off the paths where I run.

Biggest problem though is all the kids growing up going onto methylamphetamine, and marijauna.
I heard one young 20 year old put it this way;
"smoking is bad for your health, I do drugs instead much healthier"
What about the lives lost to alcohol users, and the brain damage to methylamphetamine users, and the schizophrenia induced by heavy marijauna users.

If people are serious about health issues, more should be done about alcohol abuse, and methylamphetamine, marijauna use.

Also how about some harm minimisation strategies for tobacco smokers, and opportunities for smokers to monitor the damage to lungs instead of blanket statements like smoking kills which all they do mostly is make people who are already struggling and battling in life feel even worse. How about Doctors encouraging smokers to start running and or exercising and cut down on cigarettes, instead of this blanket you must quit.

"I remember sitting with a smoker friend watching one of those graphic health warning TV ads come on, do you know what she said. "That ad stresses me out so bad, I need a cigarette!""
That is not an uncommon response.

To all those smokers who run (or runners that smoke) I say keep on running and enjoy life, and smoking while you have it.

1.If you can and want to cut down on smoking do it and be happy about that and the improvements in your running that result,    :)  
2.if you can and want to stop smoking altogether do it and be happy with the BIG improvements in health and running,    :)  
3.if cant and/or wont change your smoking habits, make the most of the life you have and be the best runner you can in spite of the obstacles.   :)

[aileenaway]

A few comments:
1.  To 'Running Aces': good for you.  You've seen the light!!  Hang in there buddy.

2. I work in hospitals in Belgium as a medical rep.  Smoking in Belgium is UNBELIEVABLE.  Nearly everyone smokes and up until the 90's you were still able to smoke in hospitals here.  Smoking is still allowed in public places and you cannot escape it.  Cigarette butts are everywhere on the ground and it is disgusting.  When I run, I often have to inhale the smoke as I pass someone or hold my breath.

3. I'm the rep for a chemotherapy product for breast and lung cancer.  As you enter the area in one of the hospitals where patients are being treated with chemotherapy there is, of all things, a 'smoking room'.  The weird thing is that there's also a sign in the same spot (a 'cross') that points in the direction of the chapel!!  Like was mentioned in another post, I see people smoking through their trachies (the hole in their throat with a tube into it so that they can breathe) while their IV lines are running.  Or they sit just outside the front entrance to the hospital and puff away.  I want to scream at them.  There are no anti-smoking campaigns on TV and while there is 'talk' about trying to ban smoking in public places, it will take forever (like everything else here) to become law.

4.  Australia at least has anti-smoking campaigns.

5.  I'll leave you with a couple of statistics:  Of all the people who get lung cancer, only 2% are non-smokers.  When lung cancer is finally diagnosed it has usually metastasised to other parts of the body and is at this stage incurable.  The average survival of a patient with metastatic lung cancer from diagnosis without treatment is around 6 months.  With treatment, you may be lucky to get up to 2 years.

If you smoke and can run and feel fine I'd think again. Smoking is a drug that is hard to kick.  The good news is that it takes only 3 days for it to actually leave your system so after 3 days of going cold turkey, it should in theory get easier....  Good luck.

[David B]

What do you wanna figure out about smoking - YOU ARE PAYING BIG MONEY AND IT IS GOING TO KILL YOU.

Smokers want some motivation - see   www.whyquit.com

You will definitely give up then.

Dave Burgess