New research dispels myth that cigarettes make teenage girls thinner (Canadian Cancer Society)
With funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, Dr Jennifer O'Loughlin has been tracking the smoking habits of students from 10 Montreal high schools since 1999.
Her most recent research dispells a widely-held belief among girls that smoking keeps them slim. (O'Loughlin J, Karp I, Henderson M, Gray-Donald K. (2008) 'Does cigarette use influence adiposity or height in adolescence?' Annals of Epidemiology v.18 n.5 pp.395-402 (http://www.etudenico.ca/ at: https://www.webdepot.umontreal.ca/Usagers/oloughlj/MonDepotPublic/en/publications.html, viewed 15 July 2008.)
Her research also found that boys who smoke cigarettes show a decrease in height as well as body mass index.
Sources:
Canadian Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/mediareleaselist/0,3208,3172_1328207547_511864870_langId-en,00.html, viewed 15 July 2008, reported by The Canberra Times, (27 March 2008, p.6) and The Mercury (Hobart), 27 March 2008, p.5.
Also see: O'Loughlin J, Kishchuk N. (2007) 'Rethinking and reframing research on tobacco use in youth: Reflections based on a longitudinal investigation of Quebec adolescents' Drogues, santé and société v.6, n.1, supplement http://www.drogues-sante-societe.org/vol6no1DSS_v6n1_art2_ang.pdf, viewed 2 July 2008