Facts on Sports and Smoke free Youth
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. Regular and heavy smoking decreases substantially with an increase in the number of sports played. (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)
Greater self-confidence gained from sports participation.
Additional counseling from coaching staff about smoking.
Reduced peer influences about smoking.
Perceptions about reduced sports performance because of smoking.
Greater awareness about the health consequences of smoking.
Special Benefits for Girls
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)
Girls who play sports have higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of
depression than girls who do not play sports. (Edwards P, 1995)
Girls who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher
states of psychological well being than girls and women who do not play sports. (Edwards
P, 1995)
Girls who play sports learn about teamwork, goal-setting, the experience of
success, the pursuit of excellence in performance, how to deal with failures,
and other positive behaviors -- all of which are important skills for the
workplace and life. (Edwards P, 1995)
Source: Office on Smoking and Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
