Smoking won't help teens lose weight, may stunt growth: study

Smoking cigarettes won't help teenage girls lose weight, but it may stunt teen boys' growth, aCanadian study suggests.

The study, published onlineMarch 17in the journal Annals of Epidemiology, found that teenage boys who smoke are on average 2.54 centimetres shorter than non-smokers.

"Girls who smoked did not end up skinnier than girls who did not smoke. They ended up having a similar height and BMI," lead author Dr.Jennifer O'Loughlin, with the Department of Social and Preventive Medicineat the University of Montreal, told CBC News in an e-mail.

"However the evidence presented supports the old adage 'Dont smoke. It will stunt your growth', at least in boys."

The study said theeffect on boys' heights may be because they are still growingwhen they start to smoke.

The researchers surveyed 1,293 Montreal teensfrom age 12 through 17 every three monthsabout their smoking and lifestyle habits.

O'Loughlin said the researchers were most surprised to find that there was no link between weight and smoking habits.

O'Loughlin said the findings can be integrated into prevention messages to help persuade teens not to start smoking.

"Girls might not start smoking if they realize that they will not end up skinnier than girls who dont smoke," she said. "Boys may not start smoking if they think they might end up shorter and smaller overall if they smoke."

She said the findings "might also help uncover the reasons why smoking affects birth weight and possibly growth in adolescents."

Thestudy ispart of the Natural History of Nicotine Dependence in Teens Study, funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.