[Is tobacco smoking an effective means of body weight control--review of literature].

A lot of people, particularly young people begin smoking tobacco with the belief, that it is an effective means of body weight control. The decision to quit coming in a later stage of life is accompanied by the fear of gaining weight after stopping smoking. The mechanism through which nicotine may be an agent in the process of controlling body weight consists in increased energy expenditure of the organism and reduced appetite. However tobacco smoking is not an effective means of combating excessive weight. This is because it stimulates formation of abdominal adipose tissue, thus increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. Therapy of tobacco addiction should be combined with diet counselling and promotion of physical activity, which will help to limit the increase of body weight.