The effects of smoking and nicotine ingestion on exercise heat tolerance

Abstract

According to this preliminary study, cigarette smoking and nicotine ingestion increase the physiological strain during a HTT in smokers. Acute smoking may, therefore, increase heat intolerance and the risk to heat injuries.

Nicotine: Sporting Friend or Foe? A Review of Athlete Use, Performance Consequences and Other Considerations

“…Compared to placebo gum Peak torque (concentric, eccentric and isometric) improved (6%) with 2 mg nicotine, countermovement jump and Wingate performance unaffected by nicotine Fogt et al [ 22 ] 10 male and 10 female, healthy non-smokers Incremental maximal cycle test starting at 15 W with work-rate increasing 15 W min −1 to volitional exhaustion Vaporiser nicotine (18 mg cartridge) inhaled once every 30 sec for 10 min via electronic cigarette whilst resting seated, 55 min prior to maximal test. Compared to placebo vaporiser inhalation (0 mg cartridge) Maximal aerobic performance unaffected by nicotine Druyan et al [ 18 ] 16 healthy, active, males: 8 smokers abstinent ~12 h and 8 non-smokers Graded maximal treadmill test at fixed unknown speed with incline increasing 2% every 2 min to volitional exhaustion 2 mg nicotine lozenge for 10 min followed by maximal protocol. Compared to control (no nicotine) Not reported but maximal O 2 uptake and anaerobic threshold unchanged …”

“…Of the five studies that assessed sub- or maximal endurance, only one demonstrated an ergogenic effect with nicotine [ 46 ], whilst the other four demonstrated no change [ 22 , 62 ] or did not explicitly report time or work completed [ 18 , 58 ]. Mündel and Jones [ 46 ] had nicotine-naïve participants cycle to exhaustion at ~75% of their aerobic maximum following ~10 h of transdermal nicotine treatment or placebo, and reported a significant improvement in endurance with nicotine.…”

“…Zandonai et al [ 62 ] also used nicotine-naïve participants cycling to exhaustion at ~65% of their aerobic power as ST or a placebo was placed into the mouth at the beginning of exercise and was kept there until exhaustion, and reported no effect on endurance with ST. Fogt et al [ 22 ] performed an incremental maximal cycle test on non-smokers following vaporised nicotine or placebo delivery and reported no effect on peak power achieved. Van Duser and Raven [ 58 ] and Druyan et al [ 18 ] performed graded maximal treadmill tests on regular tobacco users who were ~12 h abstinent, although Druyan et al [ 18 ] also included a non-user group. Van Duser and Raven [ 58 ] reported no differences in aerobic capacity or peak lactate concentration between ST and placebo use for ~30 min pre-exercise.…”

“…Van Duser and Raven [ 58 ] reported no differences in aerobic capacity or peak lactate concentration between ST and placebo use for ~30 min pre-exercise. Similarly, Druyan et al [ 18 ] reported no differences in aerobic capacity or anaerobic threshold when a 2-mg nicotine lozenge was used for 10 min pre-exercise compared to a control condition for both their smoker and non-smoker groups. Although neither studies describe the performance component/results of their graded maximal treadmill tests, the authors confirmed that distance/work completed was also similar between conditions (personal communication).…”

“…It is noteworthy, however, that none of these studies demonstrated an ergolytic effect of nicotine, although two observed ergogenic effects. Furthermore, of the four studies that included habitual nicotine users [ 3 , 18 , 21 , 58 ], only one [ 21 ] noted an ergolytic effect when regular users consumed rather than abstained from tobacco, whilst the other three demonstrated no such performance detriment with nicotine use when users remained abstinent. Therefore, nicotine can display a biphasic effect at the neuromuscular junction whereby it exerts excitatory (acutely, when naïve or after withdrawal) then inhibitory (chronically, when tolerant) effects [ 2 , 37 ].…”