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Posted on May 21, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Smokers are influenced to overcome their addiction by the behavior of people around them, according to a new report.
Smokers are influenced to overcome their addiction by the behavior of people around them, according to a new report.
Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the decision to quit smoking is affected by social ties and the habits of other people.
The study revealed that individuals were 67 per cent less likely to continue smoking after their spouse had given up, while someone whose sibling had successfully quit was 25 per cent less likely to persist with the habit.
In addition, smokers and nonsmokers were found to form 'clusters', which stayed roughly the same size over 30 years - suggesting people mirror social acquaintances' behavior.
Some 12,000 people from a social network were studied by Dr Nicholas A Christakis from Harvard Medical School and Dr James Fowler from the University of California as part of the investigation.
"Smoking behavior spreads through close and distant social ties, groups of interconnected people stop smoking in concert, and smokers are increasingly marginalized socially," the report said.
According to the World Health Organization, tobacco is the largest preventable cause of cancer globally and some 40 per cent of cancers could be prevented by lifestyle changes including quitting smoking and a healthy diet.
