Why Do Women Keep Smoking?

i used to smoke cigarettes up until about a month ago. there is no difference. as a matter of fact, the cigs never did supress my appetite more than it already was. further more, i felt like i had zero energy all the time. now that i've kicked the habit, i could run all over all day and never feel fatigued!!

I also quit one month ago today, but I am definitely experiencing cravings to eat, like I usually do when I try to quit. Smoking was more of a comfort habit for me, with a side effect of cutting down on hunger pangs. I had to quit because I'm 23 and have high blood pressure. I also can't afford it anymore.

I smoke here and there which is weird but stress brings on urges. I dont smoke not to eat cause i eat healthy. On the other hand i smoke after meals at times and thats great to me but its horrible for my health. I plan to stop because i want to repair my lungs so i should save what i have.

i'm 24 years old and a light to moderate smoker (about 5 cigs a day). i'm also a bit obsessive when it comes to diet/nutrition and exercise (some might call that an oxymoron, but it's not). anyway, i find that smoking has definitely led to weight loss for me. as soon as i started smoking in college, i dropped 5 lbs. and that was without any diet changes or any exercise at all. with diet and exercise, i dropped another 15-18 lbs. of course i know smoking is bad for my health, but i think this article rings true - part of the reason i don't want to quit (aside from preserving my sanity as a law student) is because i fear weight gain once i do quit.

I smoked from age 15-19. I didn't lose any weight when I started, and I didn't lose any weight when I quit (but I was a total jerk to everyone, gah). I think my internal body weight monitor is just really really strong (good for not gaining weight, bad for not losing weight) because I also never had the gain weight/birth control connotation that a lot of women report having.

Gained 20 lbs. when I quit, and prompty lost it when I started up again.

Not a former smoker but I know a lot of people who gain weight after smoking simply because they need some sort of 'replacement' to the now gone cigarette. Those who resort to healthy 'replacement' don't experience significant weight gain.

Thank you for your article.
Smoking as a means of dieting is a misguided myth.

To achieve weight loss that is healthy and aesthetic, fat loss is crucial.

According to new research from sydney, Australia, cigarette smoking results mainly in muscle loss [not good] rather than fat loss

Guess its time to put out that cigarette, permanently

I never smoked, but my mom smoked when she was in her late teens/early 20's because she wanted to be thinner. She figured smoking would make her lose weight by suppressing her appetite. I think she maybe lost 5 lbs or so, but she quit when she met my dad (who's kind of a health nut) so he wouldn't know she smoked. She gained back the 5 lbs, but she said the main thing that made her gain weight was the fact that food actually tasted good again, as opposed to tasting like tar.

It is amazing seeing so many women smoking when they know it is so bad for their health. Even though it keeps the weight off the diseases it brings out ways the good things about smoking.

I had lost about 130 lbs when I quit. I knew it had to be done, but I really did fear the weight loss. When I finally got around to it, I ended up putting 10 pounds back on over about two months. But then I managed to get back on track and get them off and then some.

I've seen these studies before. It's really not rational, but then for those of us who have difficulties with addictions, that's nothing unusual.

I quit 2.5 years ago. I was really depressed at that point in my life and had to replace cigarettes with something (i.e.food, in unreasonable amounts). In the next 3-4 months I gained around 10 lbs, which stayed on for about a year until I started running. Only 15 mins in the park 3 times a week did the trick and half a year later I was a size skinnier than I was before quitting.

It's funny how some women equate slimness with beauty. Some would rather have wrinkles, bad breath, dry skin, and lung cancer than be considered fat. Being skinny doesn't make one pretty and smoking is a stupid way to try and stay thin. I hate that women and girls use this as a tool at first then of course quickly become addicted. I'm glad I didn't fall into smoking because when you're young it is so easy to do.

I had a home ec teacher in high school that smoked like a chimney and she was indeed really skinny. Although, not skinny in a good way...she was really bony and the lack of fat in her face made her look about 20 years older than she really was. Not to mention the fact that her teeth were this awful shade of yellow and her lips had those "pucker lines" on them. Not the most attractive look. But of course, it didn't matter that she was ugly and smelly and old-looking...she was skinny, right? I think it sucks that we as a society thinks the only benchmark of beauty is thinness.

I used to smoke, and I actually lost weight when I quit. I think I just had more energy to burn when I wasn't smoking. Plus, I could walk and run without getting winded. I didn't immediately start exercising or anything like that. Weight loss just kind of happened, and I've always associated the two things in my mind.

My mother quit a few years ago after smoking for 40 years. She *did* gain weight, but her doctor told her that being heavier was far better than the smoking was. I'm so proud of her. :o)

As a woman, it saddens me to think that other women are emphasizing so much on weight gain and weight loss when it comes to the bad habit of smoking. No research has ever found that long term results of cigarette smoking has had a significant effect on weight loss. However, as a smoker myself, I did recognize a supression in my appetite when i initially started smoking, but that only lasted a short time. I never lost any weight, and that was never a reason for me to smoke. Perhaps there is some relation to a woman's body self image and expectations involved here. If you assume you're going to gain weight when you quit smoking, will you make less of an attempt to avoid it?

i not the smoker but i want to know why you all like to smoke and very difficult to stop..?give the comment because i need your answer for my assignment.. thank u..and Gbu

The idea that women continue smoking to stay thin is nonsense. Women (and men) continue to smoke because it is highly addictive. In fact, when I quit smoking I lost weight because I was able to exercise. Unfortunately, I relapsed and starting smoking again and the weight is starting to come back - I plan to try to quit again, though. Smoking makes exercise nearly impossible. It is a terrible ADDICTION (like meth - more addictive than meth - this I know for a fact. Some say more addictive than heroine; luckily, I do not know but don't doubt it). Breaking the initial addiction is just the tip of the iceberg. Severe depression can cause a relapse even months after the nicotine is out of one's system (I've quit for several months and have always relasped due to depression). The nicotine actually changes the receptors (for neurotransmitters) in your brain - it takes a long time for this to be repaired (if ever). Nonsmokers need to understand this! Sometimes its literally either a bullet to the head or a smoke. I'm not joking. Women do not smoke to "look sexy", "stay thin", "be rebels", etc. Most of us know that smoking cause premature aging, breast sag, etc. All these foolish sterotypes about people smoking to be cool are nonsense, and they only depress people even more about their struggle with the addiction. Stop trivialize our addiction and crapping on us about it. Instead, try to be supportive and understanding when we are cranky cause we're trying to quit.

Being single at 50, I have noticed that the majority of single middle aged women who are thin smoke. They also look younger until you get close and see the wrinkled dry leather skin!