How does tobacco affect athletic performance?

• Smoking is proven to cause a shortness of breath. This can have detrimental effects on an athlete’s endurance, making aerobic activity more difficult. Also, a smoker’s heartbeat is three times faster than that of a non-smoker, so in competition, the body wastes a lot of heartbeats just trying to keep up with non-smokers.”
• Don’t get trapped. Nicotine in cigarettes, cigars, and spit tobacco is addictive.
• Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart.
• Smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports.
• Smokers suffer shortness of breath (gasp!) almost 3 times more often than nonsmokers.
• Smokers run slower and can’t run as far, affecting overall athletic performance.
• Cigars and spit tobacco are NOT safe alternatives See tip sheets Health effects of cigar use and About spit tobacco .
  

Tobacco and Personal Appearance

• Yuck! Tobacco smoke can make hair and clothes stink.
• Tobacco stains teeth and causes bad breath.
• Short-term use of spit tobacco can cause cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth.
• Surgery to remove oral cancers caused by tobacco use can lead to serious changes in the face.

What can YOU do?

• Despite the impact of movies, music, and TV, parents can be the GREATEST INFLUENCE in their kids’ lives.
• Talk directly to youth about the risks of tobacco use; if friends or relatives died from tobacco-related illnesses let them know.
• If you use tobacco, you can still make a difference. Your best move, of course, is to try to quit (visit Quitnow.ca to find out how). Meanwhile, don’t use tobacco in your youth’s presence, don’t offer it to them, and don’t leave it where they can easily get it.
• Start the dialogue about tobacco use at age 5 or 6 and continue through their high school years. Many youths start using tobacco by age 11, and many are addicted by age 14.
• Know if your kids’ friends use tobacco. Talk about ways to refuse tobacco.
• Discuss with youths the false glamorization of tobacco on billboards, and other media, such as movies, TV, and magazines.
• Vote with your pocketbook. Support businesses that don’t sell tobacco to youths. Frequent restaurants and other places that are tobacco-free.
• Be sure your schools and all school events (i.e., parties, sporting events, etc.) are tobacco-free.

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