Study: Smoking kills, but quitting can make you fat

Quitting smoking may cause you to gain weight and initially lead to a higher risk of diabetes, even though it will reduce the chances of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Harvard University found that those whose weight increased by more than 15 kilograms after quitting smoking had a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes than smokers. The risk peaked five to seven years after quitting and then gradually decreased.

Those who did not gain weight after quitting did not experience an increase in the risk of diabetes.