SlimSmoke

 “If I quit smoking, I’ll gain weight. So I’d rather have a smoke or two per day.” This is a statement heard frequently by people looking for excuses to keep smoking. Not wanting to gain weight is a fine reason to continue smoking – especially for women. But is it possible that they really have a point here?

According to a study by Marina Picciotto from Yale University they actually do. Her research team found out that the substance nicotine docks onto neuronal receptors in the brain which then send a message to the body that it has had enough to eat and can stop asking for food.

 

For Picciotto’s team this is great news. They can use these findings to help people by creating new drugs that work like nicotine but don’t actually harm the body. Not only could this help ex-smokers to keep their weight down but also non-smokers to reduce their weight. However, until a drug containing this substance is on the market, years will go by. A lot of other tests will have to be made, then the drug has to be generated and then years of tests will follow. But what can people do with this knowledge in the meantime?

Up until now, it has been known that smoking has a positive effect on metabolism but that can also be achieved, for example, by doing sports – without the disadvantages of smoking. And smoking does have many disadvantages. The teeth of smokers are less white, their skin shows signs of early aging, the volume of their lungs decreases so they have trouble breathing if they exert themselves in any way and, of course, they have a much higher risk of getting lung cancer. And lung cancer often leads to death. Actually, smoking is the most-avoidable cause of death in western societies. And yet it still has so many followers.

Now that nicotine is proven to reduce one’s appetite, people might have another reason either not to stop or even to start smoking. Being overweight is another big problem nowadays. Approximately 50 per cent of the western population weigh too much. And maybe some of them might see the results of the study by Marina Picciotto as another chance to get their weight under control so they start smoking. Even the numbers support this opinion since on average smokers have a lower BMI than non-smokers.

When studies like this one, which actually encourage people to start smoking, are published it is inevitable to talk – at length – about the disadvantages of smoking too. There are so many desperate people out there who have tried diet after diet – low-carb, low-fat, Glyx or Slim Fast – and haven’t succeeded in losing weight. Those people might interpret the results as another chance to finally get what they want: a good-looking body. They don’t think about the negative effects because they have taken a shot at every available possibility for losing weight.

That’s why it is important to educate the public. For one, publications of studies concerning the issue of smoking always have to include information on the negative effects of this habit and clarify that this is not a safe way to lose weight. Secondly, broader sections of the population can be reached via mass media such as television and newspapers. Advertising costs a lot of money but the amount of money that can be saved if people don’t suffer from smoking-related diseases is much higher.

There are so many other good ways to maintain a trim figure that don’t involve partaking of a toxic substance. Eat healthy and exercise and you will feel good and be more confident about your body!