NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Just 5 to 10 minutes of exercise can significantly cut cravings for cigarettes among people trying to kick the habit, UK researchers report.

"Relatively small doses of exercise should be recommended as an aid to managing cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms," Dr. Adrian H. Taylor of the University of Exeter and colleagues conclude.

While exercise has been suggested as a strategy for helping smokers quit, the focus has largely been on using workouts to help prevent weight gain, Taylor's team notes in the journal Addiction. To better understand the potential benefits of exercise on smoking cessation, the researchers reviewed 14 studies on how exercise affects smoking behavior, cravings and withdrawal.

Twelve of the studies compared exercise to a passive "control" condition, and all found that a bout of physical activity reduced cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms compared to staying inactive.

In several studies, exercise cut craving as much as - or even more than -- chewing nicotine gum. Exercise also as much as tripled the time it took for people to reach for their next cigarette.

Effects were seen for vigorous bouts of exercise lasting for up to 40 minutes, but even less intense 15-minute sessions - and even five minutes of isometrics - had a significant effect, the researchers found.

It's not likely that distraction alone was responsible for exercise's effects, given the fact that cravings were lowered for 50 minutes after an exercise session, Taylor and colleagues note. More plausibly, they add, exercise may fight the urge to smoke by reducing stress and boosting mood.

"Bouts of exercise may be one strategy for reducing cigarette consumption, thereby lowering health risks for those unwilling or unable to quit and reducing the risk of progressing to regular smoking," the authors write. "A relatively small dose of exercise in which most people can conveniently engage appears to be sufficient."