Science / Medicine : Nicotine, Weight Link Found

Providing strong new evidence to help explain why smokers tend to weigh less than nonsmokers and gain weight when they quit, researchers report that nicotine boosts the amount of energy the body burns.

A new study found that nicotine increased the amount of energy smokers burned even when they were doing nothing while they smoked, and the increase in energy expenditure more than doubled if they were doing even routine tasks.

The findings provide convincing evidence that smoking in and of itself can affect body weight, and the weight difference between smokers and nonsmokers is not simply the result of how much they eat or exercise, researchers said.

The researchers stressed, however, that the health dangers of smoking far outweigh health benefits smoking may provide by making or keeping people thinner.