ExerciseStep-up to Quit: Using Low-to-moderate Intensity Exercise for Reducing Smoking Cue Reactivity Among Low-income Smokers

This intervention integrates low-to-moderate physical activity (PA) with evidence based smoking cessation programming. Over the 4-week treatment period, the intervention (1 in-person and 3 phone counseling sessions) focuses on (a) gradually increasing routine PA during the pre-quit period and maintaining PA post quit day (b) increasing daily PA (steps/day) using a weekly tailored algorithm with the goal of achieving 10,000 steps by Week 4 (quit day) and (c) training participants to use PA as a primary urge management strategy, thereby embedding PA within evidence-based smoking cessation counseling. Other components include additional smoking urge management skills, increasing motivation to quit, overcoming barriers and maintaining PA for quitting and staying smoke-free .

The control intervention parallels the format of the LMPA intervention with focus only on behavioral and cognitive urge management strategies (avoiding/escaping high-risk situations, stimulus control) and minimizing the probability that participants in the control group would increase increase/use PA during the intervention period. Participants are provided a pedometer without any instructions or encouragement around increasing walking/steps during the 8-week intervention period.