Menu

HomeHow it worksContact UsContact Us

Nicotine and Tobacco Products in Sport and Exercise: A Scoping Review of Use Patterns, Exercise Performance, Physiological Responses, and Health Outcomes

Xinjiang Li, Congbing Liu · Quality in Sport · 2026

This review pooled existing research on how nicotine and tobacco use relates to athletic performance, physiology, health, dependence, and doping rules. Nicotine use among competing athletes was fairly common (especially in men and team sports), but performance effects were inconsistent — a few endurance, repeated-sprint and skill tasks showed possible benefits while most strength, anaerobic and time-trial studies showed none, and smoking was linked to worse lung function, lower VO2max, and slower heart-rate recovery.
Takeaway: Skip nicotine as a performance aid — the evidence doesn't support it, and smoking clearly harms your cardiorespiratory fitness.
Abstract (source)

Objective: To systematically map evidence on nicotine/tobacco use, exercise performance, psychophysiological responses, health outcomes, dependence, withdrawal, and anti‑doping governance in sport/exercise, and identify research gaps.

Methods: JBI scoping review methodology and PRISMA‑ScR reporting. Searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CNKI from inception to 1 July 2026.

Results: Evidence grouped into six themes: use patterns and sport‑specific differences; acute performance; cognitive/psychophysiological responses; chronic cardiopulmonary outcomes; dependence/withdrawal; detection and governance. In‑competition nicotine exposure was not uncommon, with higher positivity in male and team‑sport athletes. Acute nicotine effects on performance were inconsistent—some endurance, repeated‑anaerobic, and skill tasks showed potential benefits, but most strength, overall anaerobic, and self‑paced time‑trial studies found no improvement. Nicotine consistently activated sympathetic activity, yet these changes did not reliably translate to competitive advantage. Conventional smoking correlated with poorer pulmonary function, lower VO₂max, and delayed post‑exercise heart rate recovery. Short‑term withdrawal temporarily impaired cognition/readiness, whereas long‑term cessation of combustible tobacco benefited cardiorespiratory fitness.

Conclusions: Nicotine use in sport is not simply performance‑enhancing or purely hazardous,effects are jointly modified by product type, dose, route, dependence status, exercise task, and sport culture. Current evidence does not support nicotine as a consistent, safe, or effective ergogenic aid. Future research should prioritize women, adolescents, long‑term users; conduct sport‑specific trials with greater ecological validity; establish longitudinal athlete cohorts; monitor emerging nicotine products; and develop athlete‑centred dependence screening and withdrawal support.

Scoping reviewOpen accessEndurance & CardiovascularRecovery & Sleep
Read the original →

Related in Endurance & Cardiovascular

Short-term creatine supplementation enhances strength, reduces fatigue, and accelerates recovery in resistance-trained athletes: a double-blind, randomized, crossover trialSleep and Athletic Performance: A Multidimensional Review of Physiological and Molecular MechanismsEffects of sleep deprivation on sports performance and perceived exertion in athletes and non-athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysisComparison of different interval training methods on athletes' oxygen uptake: a systematic review with pairwise and network meta-analysisEffects of menstrual cycle phases on athletic performance and related physiological outcomes: a systematic review of studies using high methodological standardsInter-Set Blood-Flow Restriction Increases Peripheral Physiological Stress While Preserving Repeated-Sprint Mechanical Output in Trained Athletes.