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Exercise may help smokers to quit and remain smokefree. Moreover, physical activity was also shown to increase their life expectancy, according to a new study.

"Exercise can help smokers to quit and quitting smoking has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of developing CVD and that must be the goal of all smokers," said C.P. Wen, National Health Research Institute, Taiwan. "If smokers can continue to exercise, not only they can increase the quit rate, but also they can reduce their mortality for all cause and for CVD in the long run."

The study of 434,190 people who went through medical examination program at a private fee-paying company between 1996 and 2008 in Taiwan showed that active smokers — those engaged in at least moderate activity — were 55 per cent more likely to quit smoking that those that were inactive. Moreover, these active smokers were 43 per cent less likely to relapse than smokers that were inactive.

Smokers that are physical active had an increased life expectancy of 3.7 years and a reduction in all-cause mortality of 23 per cent - equivalent to levels achieved by ex-smokers with low activity levels. The results also demonstrated that active ex-smokers increased their life expectancy by 5.6 years and reduced their all-cause mortality by 43 per cent - equivalent to the levels seen in inactive non-smokers.

Smoking is one of the major causes of CVD and directly responsible for one-tenth of all CVD worldwide. Smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack as people who have never smoked. Moreover, second-hand smoke exposure is responsible for 600,000 deaths every year.

The study was presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology.