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Scientists found out how much a person gets fat after quitting smoking
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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European researchers have calculated how much weight a person gains on average in the first year after quitting smoking.
Most smokers who quit the habit gain far more weight than previously thought, according to researchers from France and the UK led by Henri-Jean Aubin of the University of Paris-South.
Thus, in the first year of life independent from cigarettes, a person gains, on average, 4-5 kilograms (8-11 pounds). These figures are approximately one and a half times higher than the data currently given in European public service advertising.
In most cases, the most rapid weight gain occurs in the first three months after quitting smoking. For example, those who quit smoking without so-called replacement therapy (using anti-nicotine patches and similar drugs) gain about 3 kilograms in the first few months.
However, scientists insist that despite the weight gain, the benefits of quitting smoking outweigh any extra pounds. "Research shows that a small amount of weight gain does not increase the risk of early death, but smoking does," the scientists wrote in an article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
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