Elite athletes and tobacco: prevalence, anti-doping rules and rare cases of professional smokers
How many pro athletes actually smoke? WADA detected tobacco in 19% of tested footballers. A look at the rare cases — and the anti-doping rules.
The scientific basis on quitting smoking was reviewed on a voluntary basis by Pr. Bertrand Dautzenberg , a tobacco specialist, in order to rule out gross, potentially dangerous errors. It reflects positions commonly shared by health professionals and health agencies, without always corresponding exactly to his thinking or his practice. He is not the author of this text; he has only carried out a vigilance review of it.
Maradona smoking cigars. Wayne Rooney photographed fag in hand. Joey Barton, Mario Balotelli, Jack Wilshere. The list of footballers caught with a cigarette is longer than you would think. Yet at that level, smoking should have vanished. Here is what the numbers actually say — and why there are still smokers at the very top.
The (badly hidden) sportsperson's love for the fag
World Anti-Doping Agency, data reported from 2012
Estimates vary but converge on a finding: around 25% of professional footballers smoke or have smoked during their career. Less than the 33% of the French adult population, but well above what fans imagine.
By rough estimate, I would say a good quarter of footballers smoke. The kids in the academy do not dare anymore, but in the first team it is still very much there in some dressing rooms.
An anonymous ex-pro player
Quoted in So Foot, 2021
Why some elite athletes still smoke
1. Tobacco is not a doping substance
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) does not list nicotine among the substances banned in competition. As a result, a pro athlete can legally smoke. It is not considered an advantage — quite the opposite, more of a handicap.
2. Managing stress
Pro sport is colossal pressure: media, sponsors, contracts, national team, public. Many athletes describe the cigarette as the only truly off-record pause in their day. A bubble that becomes hard to give up.
3. Dressing-room culture
In some team sports (football especially, also rugby), changing-room culture remains permissive about tobacco. Cigarette at the banquet, cigar after a win — the rituals persist.
4. Underestimating the impact
The sports most concerned
| Sport | Estimated prevalence | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Football | ~ 19-25% | Dressing-room culture, stress management |
| Rugby | Historically high, declining | Tradition of the "third half" |
| Endurance sports (cycling, marathon) | Very low | Direct prohibitive impact on VO2 max |
| Precision sports (shooting, darts, snooker) | Higher | Nicotine can "calm" the tremor |
| Boxing and combat | Variable | Documented individual cases |
| Tennis and golf | Very low | Hyper-professionalisation, sponsor image |
The snus case in pro sport
Since the early 2010s, snus (Scandinavian smokeless chewing tobacco) and nicotine pouches have exploded in European dressing rooms. Several reasons:
No combustion = no impact on breathing.
Discreet: tucked under the lip.
Stimulant: effect on concentration.
Anti-stress effect comparable to a cigarette.
European football studies, 2020-2023
The famous cases
Examples are many and sometimes counter-intuitive: Maradona (cigars), Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere, Mario Balotelli, Joey Barton (football), Marco Pantani and Lance Armstrong (cycling, occasional smokers), isolated cases in boxing and MMA. One of the most iconic remains Yannick Noah, who never hid his relationship with tobacco and cannabis during and after his tennis career.
For pro athletes who want to quit
In United Kingdom
Your questions
-
Is tobacco banned at the Olympics?
No. The cigarette is not a doping substance under WADA. No athlete has been excluded for tobacco use. That said, it is rarely seen publicly smoked in the Olympic village. -
Why do you sometimes see pro cyclists smoking a cigarette?
Very rare at the top, but happens at the margin (former pros, soigneurs, some riders). Given CO's direct impact on VO2 max, it is incompatible with high-level endurance — except for very occasional smokers. -
Is snus banned in competition?
No, not yet. It has been on the WADA monitoring list since 2019. You can use it in competition, but the regulatory evolution is to watch closely. -
Why do some pro athletes still perform despite smoking?
Because training and talent compensate enormously. But they would perform even better without tobacco, at equal training. And their careers often end earlier. -
Can amateur athletes use snus?
Legal in the UK in some forms, but discouraged: strong dependence, cardiovascular effects similar to a cigarette long term. If you want to quit smoking, medical nicotine substitutes are better regulated.
sources
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Annual anti-doping testing reports, from 2012.
Doping Prevalence among U.S. Elite Athletes Subject to Drug Testing under the World Anti-Doping Code, Sports Medicine - Open, 2024.
Smokeless tobacco and nicotine use in elite football, British Journal of Sports Medicine.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), Prohibited list and monitoring programme.
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