🏃 Where exactly does tobacco get in the way of your fitness?
The body you thought had no stamina may be processing smoke before it gets to use its real strength.
People who feel unfit tend to underestimate their own bodies.
A short run to the station and you're out of breath. Conversation breaks up on a hill. You go to the gym and your chest feels heavy in the first few minutes. At times like that, people think: I'm out of shape.
That isn't wrong.
But if you smoke, the smoke is mixed into it too.
The CDC explains that quitting can improve respiratory symptoms and slow the decline of lung function. It also notes that quitting lowers the carbon monoxide in your blood. The carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke interferes with the blood's ability to carry oxygen. In other words, smoking adds an extra burden to the job of delivering oxygen during exercise.