MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia University study of teenage smokers suggests they may have a better luck kicking the habit if physical activity is added to traditional cessation programs.
The study in the journal Pediatrics is being released online Monday.
The authors studied 233 students with a mean age of 16½ from 19 West Virginia high schools. They typically smoked a half-pack on weekdays and a pack a day on weekends.
Most had started around age 11.
All the children participated in the American Lung Association's cessation program, Not on Tobacco. One group also got a brief intervention meeting, while the other had an additional physical activity component.
The study concluded physical activity doubled the chances of quitting. The effect was profound on boys, whose success rates were twice those of girls.