Quitting smoking and risk for type 2 diabetes

Researchers studied a group of 10,892 middle-aged adults over a period of nine years. They found that smokers who quit had a higher risk for diabetes within three years of quitting than either nonsmokers or continuing smokers.4 Does this show that stopping smoking causes the short-term risk for diabetes to increase? (Weight gain has been shown to be a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes and is often a side effect of quitting smoking.) Based on this research, should you tell a middle-aged adult who smokes that stopping smoking can cause diabetes and advise him or her to continue smoking? Carefully explain your answers to both questions.