Despite the several health claims against smoking, people continue to light up to suppress their appetites. by Jeff Laboon
Evan Gannon lights his cigarette. The Syracuse University senior quit for more than year at the urging of his girlfriend, who refused to go anywhere near his face because the scent of smoke on his beard was so strong.
Once the couple broke-up, though, he restarted the habit. “In her absence,” he says with a laugh, “I’m obviously not doing too well with quitting.”
Evan Gannon lights his cigarette. The Syracuse University senior quit for more than year at the urging of his girlfriend, who refused to go anywhere near his face because the scent of smoke on his beard was so strong.
Once the couple broke-up, though, he restarted the habit. “In her absence,” he says with a laugh, “I’m obviously not doing too well with quitting.”
Gannon is part of the 20 percent of Americans that regularly smoke cigarettes, according to a 2008 study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite the health risks of tobacco, many continue to smoke as a means of venting stress and weight control. The nicotine in cigarettes can serve as an appetite suppressant for some, meaning that instead of eating lunch, a dieter can smoke a cigarette. Though cigarettes account for more than 440,000 deaths in the United States each year, the difficulties of stopping make it a challenging habit to shake.
