Like many people, I am having trouble controlling my weight-currently I am doing a lot of exercise, and trying to cut down on my eating. I’ve noticed that people who used to smoke, seem to gain weight after quitting-my brother used to smoke at least a pack of cigareetes a day-and he was as thin as a rail. Now, he has gained weight-and I wonder-what is it about smoking that suppr4esses youe appetite? Is it that the foul taste of the tobacco makes food less appealing? Or does nicotine somehow shut down those signals to the brain that tell you to eat? Are there any products on the market (containing nicotine) that effectively suppress hunger?
I would not want to smoke, to lose weight-but I wonder if something could be made of this effect-anybody know about this?
This is a WAG, but I believe nicotine is a stimulant and most stimulants suppess appetite. You know those over-the-counter appetite suppressants? They are usually made of dexedrine (sp?), which is yes, a stimulant (and can be habit forming).
Also, alot of people need something to do wth their hands/mouths when they stop smoking, and munching on snacks occupies both.
The following document produced by ASH, the British anti-smoking campaign group, claims that smoking may increase the smoker’s metabolism, as well as having an appetite suppressant effect: both of these contribute to weight gain in quitters. Although the document cites a number of medical research papers for its other points, I can’t see a specific citation for this claim.
Dexedrine is dextroamphetamine, a scheduled drug and isn’t available without a prescription. You’re thinking of Dexetrim, which used to be phenylpropanolamine. I’m not sure if they still make the product, but if they do, they probably now use ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.
You’re right – I was confused. But both ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are stimulants are they not?
“Dexatrim”, apparently, was named as such so that people would associate it with Dexedrine. Dexedrine and such were used as appetite suppressants up until the late 60s, I think. When that ended, for obvious reasons (addiction, for one), a couple of faux-Dexedrines came up on the market. I think they used to be caffeine-based, but it looks like the FDA declared that caffeine couldn’t be marketed as an appetite suppressant, so they probably switched to ephedrine.
Oh, and since I veered away from the OP, I’d guess that, since nicotine tickles dopamine and other receptors, it tends to relieve many kinds of cravings, food included. I believe this is the reason that stimulants tend to decrease appetite, but IANAD.
Smokers gain weight after they quit for different reasons, which include:
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More time – if you smoke 25 cigarettes a day, at five minutes each, that’s two extra hours. Gotta do something with ll that time, so why not eat?
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More taste – food does taste better when your nose and mouth are less polluted
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Oral fixation – food is a common substitute for tobacco
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Nicotine – probably does act to suppress the appetite, but the other factors play a role too.
Agreeing with Dr_Paprika here.
I’m a smoker - and do notice that when i cannot smoke,
I think I need to be eating. On the other hand, when I do have cigarettes - I can go a few days with barely eating a thing & not be bothered in the least by it.
Oral Fixation & Habit, perhaps plays a bigger role than any chemicals contained in processed tobacco. At least for me.
The few times I’ve tried to quit, I got the hungry horrors like nobody’s business. It wasn’t so much as not knowing what to do with my hands – I’m not a fidgeter by nature – but it was how extraordinary food tasted. I remember eating a chocolate ice cream cone and waxing even more eloquent over it than I usually do because the chocolate was, to my poor nicotine-befuddled tastebuds, so intense…
My husband quit four or five months ago (he could tell you the exact date), and he likes to munch on things, now. Usually it’s just those little hard candies, but he IS eating more. I don’t know about the metabolism, he used a nicotine patch for a while, and it didn’t seem to have any effect on his appetite.