According to research, vaping or having e-cigarettes can help those who wanted to quit smoking lose pounds.
Weight gain is a no joking matter as weight gain, particularly significant weight gain can be harmful to health. What then is the answer? Well, given that smoking tobacco cigarettes has been proven to cause cancer and contribute to a number of nasty diseases.
Weight gain is also a major concern among smokers who are quitting. On average individuals put on 5kg in the first year they go without smoking. Nicotine is also known to suppress appetite and increase metabolic rate among other effects. So while nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can help control weight gain and also helps smokers to quit, researches say that electronic cigarette might be a better option.
"People can change their nicotine content, so to quit smoking they might start off on a higher strength e-liquid and then they can taper down really quite gradually in a much more sophisticated way than they can with NRT, which is probably good for weight maintenance and for weight loss," said co-author Linda Bauld, professor of health policy at the University of Stirling and deputy director of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies. The huge range of e-liquids available, she adds, could also help prevent snacking, particularly given the number of sweet and fruit flavours on offer.
The authors suggest that e-cigarettes, with their myriad flavours, could potentially help to tackle cravings for certain foods. What's more, the study suggests that the physical processes involved in filling an e-cigarette could reduce the urge to eat.
Paul Aveyard, professor of behavioral medicine at the University of Oxford, said it was "almost certain" that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes would reduce weight gain among smokers attempting to quit. But, he cautioned, the possible benefits of e-cigarettes in managing weight gain among ex-smokers did not mean that they could benefit non smokers' attempts to lose weight.
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