Can Smoking Affect My Cricket?

Whilst we all love to watch cricket, cheering on India as they strive for test success, there’s also a huge hunger for playing the game. There are thought to be 2.5 billion cricket fans across the world, making it the second most popular sport. It’s popular in countries such as England, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Something else that is popular across the globe but is not such a force for good is smoking. Whilst cigarette smoking is seeing a decline, it is still a major worry – there are 1.3 billion smokers globally, according to the World Health Organisation. With 1.3 billion smokers, 2.5 billion cricket fans and 8.1 billion people on the planet, there’s bound to be some crossover. If there is, then it might be important for cricketers of all abilities to understand how smoking affects them and what can be done to stop it.

How Smoking Impacts Cricket

Smoking can significantly impair your cricket performance in several ways, affecting both your physical abilities and mental acuity. Primarily, smoking damages your respiratory system, leading to reduced lung capacity and endurance. In cricket, where stamina is crucial for long matches, compromised lung function can result in fatigue more quickly, impacting your ability to bowl and bat – of course, if you’re on the batting team and watching on, there’s no such big impact!

Also, smoking negatively impacts cardiovascular health, reducing circulation and, hence, oxygen delivery to muscles. This can result in slower reaction times and reduced agility, crucial skills for fielding and batting in cricket. That sluggishness may lead to missed catches, slower running between wickets and mistimed shots, ultimately compromising your team’s chances of success. Also, smoking contributes to overall decreased fitness levels, which can hinder your training regimen and limit your potential for improvement. Regular exercise becomes more challenging due to reduced lung capacity and endurance, hindering your ability to build the strength and agility necessary for a good game of cricket.

Beyond the physical effects, smoking can also impair cognitive function. Smoking can lead to cravings during matches, distracting you from the game and affecting your decision-making abilities. This is especially evident if you’re fielding and likely to be on the field for a longer period of time.

How To Stop

There are many ways people are choosing to stop smoking, but not all of them will be suitable for cricket. Much depends on how heavy a smoker you are. For instance, some people have turned to vaping, but that’s not practical in every country. In India, Filter reports vaping has been banned since 2019, so it wouldn’t be an option. In the United States, vaping products by Juul are also banned, and other countries are sure to follow suit.

Nicotine alternatives have become popular, and they can help reduce the cravings if you’re out on the field. One such product is a nicotine pouch, which is a small sack of synthetic nicotine that is placed between the gum and lip. It disperses nicotine slowly into the body, usually over a period of around 30 minutes. They’re quite versatile, and as demonstrated by the nicotine pouches on Prilla, standard products come in strengths that vary from 4mg to 12mg. If you’re a really heavy smoker, Siberia All White Large pouches are available in 33mg strength. Coupled with the different flavours, from mango to mint, it makes it easier to tailor a strategy to your needs.

Patches are another option, and whilst they’ve been around for a long while now, they’re a viable alternative to pouches. The benefit of a patch is it affixes to the skin and can last 24 hours. If you’re fielding on the boundary and watching your opponent smash sixes in the other direction, you can be out on the field for a long time, perhaps more than 30 minutes. A patch wouldn’t need to be removed for up to 24 hours. They’re a tried and trusted approach, and products by the likes of Habitrol have become as valuable in the fight against smoking as the night watchman in test cricket.

Conclusion

At times, cricket is fast-paced and demands a level of physical fitness. At other times, it is tactical, requiring absolute focus. In both instances, smoking cigarettes regularly will have a negative impact. If you want to be bowling out your friends more regularly or hitting the boundary often, then it’s time to ditch the cigarettes once and for all.