The words smoking and exercise do not go together very well. With traditional cigarettes you are ingesting a lot of toxins and pollutants which can lead to respiratory problems, and on the other hand there is the issue of image, especially in the professional field. Many athletes, behind the scenes, are stick smokers.
In the following, we would like to deal with the question of whether or not a “smoker” who steams is a good athlete.
Vaping and exercising with e-cigarettes. Those who smoke cigarettes themselves will soon realise the negative health effects of classic cigarettes. When you smoke, you quickly become out of breath, feel unwell and your muscles become less efficient.
Compared to cigarettes, the whole experience now looks a little different. E-cigarettes have a completely different effect on your body and therefore on your athletic performance.
How does smoking affect an athlete?
Smoking and sports with e-cigarettes: In order to clarify how e-cigarettes affect sports, we first need to distinguish between smoking and e-cigarettes.
Cigarettes contain around 4,800 chemicals, at least 90 of which have been proven to be carcinogenic.
But for athletes, it’s even worse: smoking prevents the body from absorbing oxygen properly, which means less oxygen is available for the blood. Many athletes notice this when they find it difficult to breathe or actually experience chest pains. In addition, the tar adheres to the hairs of the lungs.
This makes it even more difficult to take in oxygen. The nicotine is theoretically eliminated from the body after an hour, but that’s not all it does for the body.
Here’s how vaping can affect an athlete
What is the difference between smoking an e-cigarette and exercising? The main difference is that you don’t burn anything. The liquid in the tank is heated in a vaporiser and the vapour produced is inhaled.
With e-cigarettes, the absorption of existing nicotine (if the e-cigarette liquid contains nicotine) into the body is very different.
As nothing is burnt, the cilia do not stick together and the strain on the bronchial tubes is greatly reduced.
Conclusion – E-cigarettes make you sporty?
E-cigarettes and sport. It’s not so easy either. This is because even though e-cigarettes are a much better alternative to traditional cigarettes, your body is still under stress when you are smoking them.
Also, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you will see an immediate change. Many ex-smokers have seen an improvement in their health after about two months. Many said they could breathe more easily, were no longer immediately short of breath, or coughed less in the morning.
However, it depends entirely on how long you have already been consuming classic tobacco cigarettes: in 2014, the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre conducted a worldwide survey in which 19,000 e-cigarette users were interviewed. The results showed that 74% said that their physical condition and health had improved, and 86% said that their breathing function had improved.
Are there other benefits that are not necessarily related to exercise? Yes, the sense of taste and smell is restored. The taste of the shake you drink in the fitness studio may be different as a result.
A number of scientists support the view that e-cigarettes are less harmful. For example, a long-term study in the USA found that 96% of smokers who had been smoking e-cigarettes for more than three years had reduced damage from cigarette smoke.
This is mainly true for asthma, high blood pressure and heart disease. In short, e-cigarettes have been shown to be healthier, especially for athletes. As a result, their performance is also improved.