A new study of how relationships affect one's ability to quit smoking focused on analyzing social interactions of smokers. 

Researchers found that people who are "socially disconnected" (defined as having little social interaction, low levels of stress, and low exposure to social cues about environmental smoking cues) have  the highest probability of successful cessation at one week after quitting in comparison to people with other patterns of social behavior. 

The research study was led by Megan Piper, PhD, associate professor, General Internal Medicine and UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. 

"Social network research is often focused on adolescents—who is hanging out with who, or research on how quit rates vary based on whether or not one’s partner quits,” she said. “But this is the first study to look at the networks of people who do and don’t quit.”

Resources:

• Burgess-Hull AJ, Roberts LJ, Piper ME, Baker TB. 2017. The social networks of smokers attempting to quit: An empirically derived and validated classification. Psychol Addict Behav. 32(1):64-75. 
• "Paper reports new analysis method to study smokers' social networks," UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, May 10, 2018