The belief that “sitting is the new smoking” has spread like wildfire in many media outlets. Despite what countless newspaper articles have touted in recent years, sitting pales in comparison to the risks associated with smoking. This is the consensus formed by an international team of researchers who published their 2018 study in the American Journal of Public Health.

1. Sitting Is Not the New
Smoking, Contrary to
Popular Myth
Office Line

2. The belief that “sitting is the new smoking” has spread like wildfire in many media outlets. Despite what
countless newspaper articles have touted in recent years, sitting pales in comparison to the risks associated
with smoking. This is the consensus formed by an international team of researchers who published their 2018
study in the American Journal of Public Health.
Ill-Effects of Smoking a Lot Worse than Prolonged Sitting
Dr Terry Boyle, an epidemiologist from the University of South Australia and one of the authors of the study,
says that media stories comparing smoking with sitting rose 12-fold from 2012 to 2016. Some respected
clinical and academic institutions have also disseminated the myth.
Dr Boyle goes on by stating that smoking is one of the past century’s greatest public health disasters.
Prolonged sitting is not, and people really cannot compare the two. He provided these three reasons:
 The risks of premature death and chronic disease associated with smoking are significantly higher than
that for sitting. While individuals who sit a lot have about 10 to 20 per cent increased risk of
cardiovascular disease and some cancers, smokers have more than 1000 per cent increased risk of lung
cancer and more than double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

3.  The number of deaths and economic impact caused by diseases attributed to smoking greatly
outweigh those of sitting. The yearly global cost of smoking-attributable illnesses, for instance, was
around $467 billion in 2012. Additionally, smoking will likely cause at least a billion deaths in the 21st
century.
 Unlike smoking, sitting for long periods is neither a danger to others nor an addiction.
People Still Need to Exercise
While the health risks of sitting pale in comparison to smoking, people should not see this as an excuse to
skip exercise. According to an article by Medical News Today, extended periods of inactivity could impair the
ability of the body to break down fat, regulate blood pressure, and control blood sugar levels. People can
minimise the amount of time they spend being sedentary by:
 Taking walks during lunch breaks
 Walking to work
 Working out instead of playing video games or watching TV

4. Dr Boyle remarks that equating the risk of smoking with sitting is misleading and clearly unwarranted.
He adds that the myth serves to downplay the risks associated with smoking.
Sources:
https://officeline.com.au/
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/2018/Sitting-is-NOT-the-new-smoking-contrary-to-
popular-myth/
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304649
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322910.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181105105419.htm