Can Smoking Make You Fat?

Smoking and consuming nicotine can affect your blood sugar and impact your appetite.

Smoking can impact how your body functions in general. It increases carbon monoxide in your body, which decreases oxygen levels. Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels.

When people are exposed to CO gas, the CO molecules will displace the oxygen in their bodies and lead to poisoning. Smoking can speed up and put pressure on your heart and it also slows down circulation due to your blood becoming thicker.

Nicotine, the highly addictive substance in tobacco and some vaping products, is a psychoactive substance. This means it affects how the brain works, as well as how your body works. Nicotine releases stress hormones in the body and triggers your ‘fight or flight’ response. This affects your appetite in many different ways, which in turn can affect your body weight.

How smoking affects your body weight:

Smoking is linked with both weight loss and weight gain. Studies show that long term and heavy smokers are more likely to be overweight o