# smoking and weight loss/gain

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-and-weight-loss-gain/366072>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 26, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-and-weight-loss-gain/366072 "2006-07-26T12:10:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rhiannon777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@rhiannon777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhiannon777)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-and-weight-loss-gain/366072/1 "2006-07-26T12:10:11Z")

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So, everyone “knows” you gain weight when you quit smoking. I’ve always thought this was simply because people eat more when quitting smoking to deal with the oral fixation. My friend, however, swears that smoking ten cigarettes a day burns 200 calories. Smoking -does- seem to speed things up (increased heart rate, suddenly you have to go to the bathroom, etc.) so maybe there’s something to this?

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**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-and-weight-loss-gain/366072/2 "2006-07-26T12:57:14Z")

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Yep - smoking will temporarily rev up your metabolism so you burn more calories than without. Smokers weigh an average of 8 lbs less than non-smokers.

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**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-and-weight-loss-gain/366072/3 "2006-07-26T14:47:20Z")

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I believe that it doesn’t speed up your metabolism as such; more that nicotine speeds food through the gut (via peristalsis?). But although the passage is sped up, there is less time for absorption of nutrients, so it’s not really a bonus, more a ‘shit-yourself-slimmer’ diet plan.