Use of diet pills and amphetamines to lose weight among smoking and nonsmoking high school seniors.

Abstract

Used data on 3,305 high school seniors collected as part of the 1984 Monitoring the Future project to examine the relationships among cigarette use, diet pill use, and use of amphetamines for weight loss. Results indicate that females were more likely than males to report use of all three substances. In addition, Whites were more likely than Blacks to use all three substances. Both female and male smokers were more likely than nonsmokers to use diet pills. Amphetamine use for weight loss was positively related to smoking among females, but not among males. The relationships between smoking and diet pill use, and smoking and amphetamine use to lose weight, were maintained when race, sex, and other drug use were controlled simultaneously. Two explanations for these relationships are considered. The first is that smoking is related to the use of most other licit and illicit drugs. The second explanation is that there is a greater preoccupation with weight among smokers, with weight concerns potentially motivating the initiation of smoking.

Misuse of methamphetamine and prescription stimulants among youths and young adults in the community

“…This difference in the drugs of choice may have resulted from the misuse of prescription stimulants by some females as appetite suppressants. For example, among high school seniors in the Monitoring the Future study, females were more likely than males to report amphetamine use for weight loss (Gritz and Crane, 1991). Nonetheless, there are studies indicating other motivations for stimulant misuse, including staying awake, improving grades, and enhancing sexual experience (Hall et al, 2005;Von et al, 2002).…”

Physical activity as a strategy for maintaining tobacco abstinence: A randomized trial

“…Though most people who quit smoking will gain less than 10 lb (Williamson et al, 1991), weight gain concerns are predictive of smoking initiation, reluctance to quit smoking, and smoking relapse (Gritz and Crane, 1991;Klesges et al, 1989;Perkins et al, 1995). For managing weight gain associated with quitting smoking, clinical practice guidelines recommend PA, rather than dieting (Fiore et al, 2000).…”

Physical health of today's school children

“…Girls also were more likely to smoke, and the researchers speculated that weight concerns could have played a role in initiation of smoking. Among female smokers, use of both amphetamines and diet pills was 2-3 times higher than among nonsmokers (Gritz and Crane, 1991). Among adolescent girls, the belief that smoking is useful for weight control rises dramatically after age 12 (Charlton, 1984).…”