Cigarette use among Greek athletes

Abstract

Background: Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. Exercise improves cardiovascular and pulmonary function and also may play an important role in encouraging people to give up smoking, when appropriate sporting activity is introduced. We investigated smoking habits among Greek students participating in sporting activities. Methods: We interviewed 1003 volunteers with a mean age of 17.9 ± 0.2 years. They included 617 (61.5%) men and 386 (38.5%) women, participating in 30 different sporting activities. A specific questionnaire was used. Results: Of the 1003 volunteers, 104 (10.4%) were current smokers who started smoking at the age of 17.3 ± 0.2 years and smoked 13.6 ± 0.7 cigarettes per day. Among males 9.1% and among females 12.4% were current smokers. Two-thirds (66.4%) of the smokers preferred Marlboro (45.2%) and Camel (21.2%) brands, respectively. Among males, volleyball, kickboxing, track & field and handball and among females, volleyball, dance, gymnastics, and basketball were associated with higher rates of smoking. Students involved in national and international competitions had significantly lower smoking rates. Conclusions: Exercise may be related to a significantly lower prevalence of smoking among students. Smoking cessation programs should encourage sporting activity. Participation at high levels of competition may be significant in preventing the habit of smoking.

Behavior and Knowledge of Iranian Professional Athletes towards Smoking

“…The results of a study in Greece showed the highest numbers of male smokers were volleyball players, boxers and handball players whereas the highest rate of female smokers were volleyball players, dancers, gymnasts and basketball players [ 10 ] .…”

Elit Sporcuların Kaygı Durumlarını Etkileyen Faktörlerin Belirlenmesi

“…When the smoking habit of the elite sportsmen is analyzed, it was identified that the total of them were non-smokers (Table 2). When the other studies in this regard are analyzed, in Spanoudaki et al (2005)'s study on Greek athletes, the rate of the smoking habit among the athletes is 10.4 %. In Saygın et al (2009)'s study, the 25.4 % of the professional footballers are active smokers.…”