Abstract
Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of chronic illness in the United States. A high percentage of smokers attempt to quit each year; however, smoking cessation success rates are low. Adding an exercise program to traditional therapies can increase smoking cessation rates among women. An experimental design was used to test two hypotheses. The first was that women who engage in a multifaceted approach to smoking cessation that includes a structured exercise program, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and weekly counseling sessions will experience less weight gain during an 8-week smoking cessation program and at the 4-month follow-up session than women who engage in NRT and weekly counseling sessions alone. The second was that women who engage in a structured exercise program with NRT and weekly counseling sessions will have higher smoking cessation rates at the end of the 8-week smoking cessation program and at the 4-month follow-up session than women who engage in NRT and weekly counseling sessions alone.