Research has shown that students
who participate in interscholastic
sports are less likely to be regular
and heavy smokers. Students who
play at least one sport are 40% less
likely to be regular smokers and
50% less likely to be heavy
smokers.*
*Escobedo LG, Marcus SE, Holtzman D, Giovino GA. Sports participation, age at smoking initiation, and the risk of smoking among US high school students. JAMA, March 17, 1993; 269:1391-1395.
The lower rates of smoking for student athletes may be related to a number of factors: (Escobedo, 1993)
Smoking becomes a way for preteen and teen women to build a sense of self and stay connected with peers in the face of enormous pressures to be beautiful, successful, sophisticated, thin, independent, and popular -- seductive images that are reinforced in movies, music videos, and advertising. (Edwards P. Evening the odds: Adolescent women, tobacco and physical activity. Ottawa: Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity, 1995.)
Sports and physical activity are positive, viable alternatives to smoking in the lives of young women. They can give adolescent women the very benefits they perceive in smoking: independence, status with their peers, a chance to make friends, relaxation, weight management, and a more positive sense of self. (Edwards P, 1995)
Resource credit
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
Youth Tobacco Survey
2004-2005 Youth Sports Sponsorships
VDH: Tobacco Use Control Project
Contact Us:
Department of Health - CDPC Tobacco Use Control Program
109 Governor St., 10th Flr., Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 864-7874
