Smoking and walking don't mix

March 25, 4:24 AMPortland Walking ExaminerWendy Bumgardner

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Smoking and walking (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

It's Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.  I am amazed at the culture change America has had towards smoking.  When I started organizing walking events in the 1980's, one of the rules was to have suitable ashcans at the water stops and signs to say, "No Smoking in the Woods."  Today, it is very rare to encounter walkers and runners at walking events and running events who smoke.

This is not true in Europe or Asia, although the anti-tobacco culture is slowly spreading.  We host international walkers for our International Discovery Walk Festival in Vancouver (April 24-26 this year) and many of these marathon walkers light up a cigarette before, during, and after their walks.

They could probably walk better and faster without tobacco's effects on their lungs, but they chafe against the strange American restrictions on smoking.

I've lost some walking buddies due to lung cancer.  One couple came to my 18-hour walk and the husband proudly walked 100 kilometers in 18 hours.  But within three years, both were dead of lung cancer that was probably caused by lifelong smoking habits and second hand smoke. Don't count on your walking making up for the toxins you get smoking.

What is more common in everyday life is to be walking down a sidewalk or through a park and have to trail people who are out about their daily lives, smoking. They probably aren't allowed to smoke in the house, or are such addicted chain smokers that the smoking doesn't stop while you walk the dog.

The refuse left by smokers also makes for a less-pleasant walking experience.  I most often come across cigarette butts and discarded packs in parking lots.  You really don't see much of that after a few hundreds yards down the trail.  At least Americans keep their smoking closer to their cars.

Be a good example to the kids.  If you smoke, there is no time like the present economic crisis to quit.  Cigarettes are very expensive and you will save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year quitting.  Yes, many people smoke to relieve stress, but ultimately it can give you the stress of dealing with cancer and heart disease.  A little stress now can save literal heartbreak later.  Not to mention getting fewer wrinkles and worry lines.  Save your health, save your face, kick the butts.