Kicking the habit is contagious, study finds

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — When you stub out that last cigarette, vowing never to light another, you need not feel alone. Chances are your spouse, your best friend and even your co-workers will follow suit.

Even people in your milieu who you don't know very well are likely to be influenced by your decision to go cold turkey.

That's the finding of US researchers who analyzed relationships among 12,000 people over three decades and found that a steady decrease in smoking over that period occurred in clusters, all along the six degrees of separation.

"We've found that when you analyze large social networks, entire pockets of people who might not know each other all quit smoking at once," said Nicholas Christakis, a professor at Harvard Medical School and co-author of...