Exercise and Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes in Adult Female Smokers: A Pilot Trial

Background: Although Reduced Nicotine Cigarettes (RNC) are suggested to improve smoking cessation and cardiometabolic health in relation to cancer risk, the effectiveness of exercise training with RNC on smoking cessation and cardiometabolic health is unknown. Methods: Female smokers (N = 27) were randomized to: (1) usual nicotine cigarettes (i.e., control), (2) RNC or (3) RNC plus exercise treatment for 12 weeks. Smoking withdrawal symptoms (e.g., Wisconsin Smoking Withdrawal Scale) and cardiometabolic health (e.g., weight, VO(2)max, resting respiratory exchange ratio (RER), glucose, HOMA-IR) were examined before and after treatment. Results: Treatments had no differential effect on weight (p = 0.80; partial η(2) = 0.29), VO(2)max (p = 0.20, partial η(2) = 0.18), or total cholesterol/HDL ratios (p = 0.59, partial η(2) = 0.06). However, RNC + Exercise tended to maintain RER (i.e., fat oxidation; p = 0.10, partial η(2) = 0.10) as well as insulin resistance (p = 0.13, partial η(2) = 0.25) and cortisol compared (p = 0.06, partial η(2) = 0.30) with control and RNC. Increased VO(2)max was also associated with lower nicotine dependence scores (r = −0.50, p < 0.05). Conclusion: In this pilot study, improved fitness was associated with lower nicotine dependence. Additional work is warranted to examine the effects of exercise in smokers as a tool to improving smoking cessation and lower disease risk.