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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)
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