Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Study Says Smokers Often Quit Within Their Social Groups

Boston (ChattahBox) - A new study has shown that people who quit smoking usually do so in large social groups rather than on their own. When one person in a group quits smoking, it was found to create a ripple effect within the social group.

Research was carried out at the Harvard University Medical School in Massachusetts and looked at 12,000 people who quit smoking over a 30-year period.

They looked deeply into the lifestyle of all of those who tried to quit smoking, their habits, etc. What they found in the end was that people who were in social groups with smokers were more likely to quit together rathern tahon their own.

Lead author of the study, Nicholas Christakis confirmed that the results show that people who quit smoking cause a “flocking” effect where they cause their friends, spouses, etc. to quit as well.

The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.