Women who believe smoking helps them manage their weight are less likely to try quitting in response to anti-smoking policies than other female smokers in the United States.
The study, published online in the journal “Tobacco Control,” is the first to find that smokers who are concerned about their weight are less swayed by anti-smoking policies—such as bumps in cigarette prices, smoke-free laws, or anti-tobacco messaging—than other smokers are.
“We found that concerns about weight are a significant barrier to quitting,” said lead author Ce Shang of the University of Illinois at Chicago, “among U.K. smokers and U.S. female smokers who believe smoking helps them manage weight.”
