A researcher from McGill University in Montreal has thrown light on the alarming trend among teenage girls taking to smoking, mainly to keep a check on weight. This news also seeks to dispel the myth that smoking helps in controlling weight.
The findings show that teenage girls put on weight in much the same way as their peers who do not smoke. In effect this is just a marketing gimmick by the industry, which deserves to be puffed out.Dr. Louise Pilote, leader of the Genesis ICE team, a group involved in examining sex and gender difference in cardiovascular disease, said "I think young people are very important to the tobacco industry, because eventually the people who currently smoke will not survive, and those smokers have to be replaced."
Infact, research suggests that smoking actually inhibits growth in boys. Since girls attain puberty faster, their growth is not hampered due to smoking.
Dr. Louise Pilote added, "There is an important public-health message here that we need to get to teenage girls: Smoking is not going to help you lose weight. Smoking isn't glamorous and the tobacco industry is actually duping you. They're out to get young people. Who else is going to replace all those smokers?"
Source-Medindia
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