Social Networks Have Impact on Smoking Behavior

The social aspects of cigarette smoking are no secret but a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports on the social aspects of smoking cessation. The findings are part of the Framingham Heart Study and analyzed in detail the smoking behavior in more than 12,000 individuals who were followed for 32 years, from 1971 to 2003.

Researchers found that in 1971 smokers and nonsmokers seemed to enjoy the same social network. But 30 years later, societal views of smoking altered and smokers often found themselves on the periphery of social networks or aligned with other smokers. Authors Drs. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, reported last year on the potentially strong influence of social networks on obesity. The smoking study demonstrated that decisions to quit smoking often reflect changes made by social connections. For example, when a spouse quit smoking, the partner's chances of smoking decreased by 67 percent; friends who quit smoking decreased one another's chance of smoking by 36 percent.

The study's findings may help improve smoking cessation programs or validate public health strategies. The study appears in the journal's May 22 issue.