Exercise makes smoking less attractive

EXETER, England, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A small study found exercise can help smokers quit because it makes cigarettes less attractive, British researchers suggest.

The University of Exeter study involved 20 moderately heavy smokers, who had abstained from cigarettes for 15 hours before the trial.

Lead author doctoral student Kate Janse Van Rensburg says during two visits to the laboratory participants began by being shown smoking-related and neutral images, and then spent either 15 minutes sitting or exercising on a stationary bike at a moderate intensity. Then they were shown the images again.

As the participants were shown the images, the research team used eye tracking technology to measure and record precise eye movements.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, shows an 11 percent difference between the time the participants spent looking at the smoking-related images after exercise, compared with the after sitting. Also, after exercise, participants took longer to look at smoking-related images.

Exercise appears to reduce the power of the smoking-related images to grab visual attention, the researchers say.