One of the myriad reasons smokers cite for not wanting to quit is that they fear they might gain weight because cigarette smoke keeps them thin. Now, a new study challenges that belief by suggesting that exposure to cigarette smoke actually causes weight gain, and for non-smokers, secondhand smoke enhances this effect.

Share on Pinterest The new study challenges the belief that cigarette smoke exposure keeps individuals slim, instead asserting that it actually causes weight gain by triggering a mechanism that impairs the cells’ response to insulin.

The researchers, from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT, publish their findings in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism.

It is already well known that smoking carries with it risks to health. But for those who do not smoke, secondhand – and even thirdhand – smoke poses certain risks.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study that suggested non-smokers who live with smokers are exposed to three times the healthy limit of dangerous air particles recommended by the World Health Organization.

According to the researchers of this latest study, half of the population in the US is exposed to secondhand smoke at least once daily, and around 20% of young children live with smokers.

“For people who are in a home with a smoker, particularly children, the increased risk of cardiovascular or metabolic problems is massive,” says Prof. Benjamin Bikman, study author from BYU.

Additionally, nearly 4,000 young adults in the US smoke their first cigarette every day, and 1,000 become habitual smokers.