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Pale Rider
05-22-2008, 09:41 PM
Failure to Kick Smoking Habit May Put a Drag on Social Life



New study shows pattern of "quitting cascades" permeate social networks
By Nikhil Swaminathan

Smokers who fail to kick the habit are not only hurting their bodies but may also be missing a chance to make new friends or, in some cases, keep old ones, according to new research.

Researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that an analysis of more than 12,000 smokers (and their friends, families and colleagues) over a 30-year period shows that attempting to quit smoking can serve as a people magnet by becoming a phenomenon among social groups, like a gaggle of college students or co-workers at a small firm.

According to the study, quitting often involves networks of people who spread the word (and behavior) to other cliques with whom they interact. "In a deep way, there's an association between you quitting and the quitting of people that are two to three degrees away from you," says study co-author Nicholas Christakis, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. "People you don't know personally, their actions ripple through the network and affect you."

Christakis says the effect triggers "quitting cascades" analogous to lights going out down the line on a power grid until ultimately it goes dark. The parts of the grid that are not affected by the loss of power, as in an actual blackout, are usually those on the fringes of the web—in a quitting cascade, it is those who continue to smoke.

Article continues here... (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=failure-to-kick-smoking-h&sc=rss)

Mr. P
05-22-2008, 10:20 PM
Failure to Kick Smoking Habit May Put a Drag on Social Life



New study shows pattern of "quitting cascades" permeate social networks
By Nikhil Swaminathan

Smokers who fail to kick the habit are not only hurting their bodies but may also be missing a chance to make new friends or, in some cases, keep old ones, according to new research.

Researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that an analysis of more than 12,000 smokers (and their friends, families and colleagues) over a 30-year period shows that attempting to quit smoking can serve as a people magnet by becoming a phenomenon among social groups, like a gaggle of college students or co-workers at a small firm.

According to the study, quitting often involves networks of people who spread the word (and behavior) to other cliques with whom they interact. "In a deep way, there's an association between you quitting and the quitting of people that are two to three degrees away from you," says study co-author Nicholas Christakis, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. "People you don't know personally, their actions ripple through the network and affect you."

Christakis says the effect triggers "quitting cascades" analogous to lights going out down the line on a power grid until ultimately it goes dark. The parts of the grid that are not affected by the loss of power, as in an actual blackout, are usually those on the fringes of the web—in a quitting cascade, it is those who continue to smoke.

Article continues here... (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=failure-to-kick-smoking-h&sc=rss)

We used to call this social pressure..nothing new.

dread
05-22-2008, 10:25 PM
We used to call this social pressure..nothing new.

That never works on me. You tell me one thing and my knee jerk reaction is to do the oposite. I guess I am just a rebel that way.

manu1959
05-22-2008, 10:26 PM
That never works on me. You tell me one thing and my knee jerk reaction is to do the oposite. I guess I am just a rebel that way.

don't post pictures of yourself naked...........

Mr. P
05-22-2008, 10:28 PM
That never works on me. You tell me one thing and my knee jerk reaction is to do the oposite. I guess I am just a rebel that way.
me too. Cept if there's jail time or a fine involved.:cheers2:

dread
05-22-2008, 10:28 PM
don't post pictures of yourself naked...........




You know after I hit the submit button I realized what was about to happen. LOL

manu1959
05-22-2008, 10:48 PM
You know after I hit the submit button I realized what was about to happen. LOL

i will not accept an e-mail from you.....so under no circumstances should you send me one.......

Dilloduck
05-22-2008, 10:49 PM
You know after I hit the submit button I realized what was about to happen. LOL

Manu never misses an opening like that. :laugh2:

manu1959
05-23-2008, 12:19 AM
Manu never misses an opening like that. :laugh2:

nope......was hoping for a picture of that opening........:laugh2:

Pale Rider
05-24-2008, 04:33 PM
nope......was hoping for a picture of that opening........:laugh2:

Didn't get one? What a "drag."... ahah... a ha... ok... not funny.