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 In a review published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research,
the scientists found that it's the nicotine in cigarettes that makes
smokers less likely to overeat, and suggested e-cigarettes, which
contain nicotine but no tobacco, may help prevent them from eating
too much when they quit.
E-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced flavored liquids into a
vapor, have rapidly grown into a global "vaping" market that was
estimated at around $7 billion in 2015.
Smoking tobacco, which can lead to fatal illness, is known to
suppress appetite and smokers often say they smoke to keep their
body weight in check. People who quit tobacco frequently say they
put on weight after giving up, and the risk of getting fatter can
deter smokers from trying to stop.
"Weight gain prevents some smokers from quitting, so we need to
explore alternative ways of helping these (people) control their
weight while removing the risks of tobacco," said Linda Bauld, a
Stirling University health policy professor and deputy director of
the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies.
Many public health specialists think e-cigarettes, or vapes, are a
lower-risk alternative to smoking, but some question their long-term
safety and note that they are not risk-free.
Bauld said "the benefits of e-cigarettes for smokers have been shown
to far outweigh the harms, as vaping carries around 5 percent of the
risk of smoking". But she but stressed that her team did not find
evidence to support any promotion of e-cigarettes to non-smokers who
want to stay slim.
For smokers trying to quit and prevent weight gain, however, the
researchers said e-cigarattes with food flavorings may replicate
some of the sensations of eating.
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This coupled with the vapor in electronic cigarettes and the hand to
mouth actions of vaping could play a role in helping potential
quitters to eat less, they said in their review.
Health specialists not directly involved in the review said its
findings were interesting but should be taken with great caution,
particularly with regard to non-smokers and non-vapers.
"E-cigarettes are an effective strategy to help people stop smoking
and improve their health. If they also help smokers who quit to
limit weight gain that would be a bonus, though not yet proven,"
said Susan Jebb, a professor of diet and population health at Oxford
University.
"But e-cigarettes are not harmless and there is no evidence they aid
weight loss, so are not recommended for non-smokers."
(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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