Online support groups may help smokers quit
Sixty-two percent of of participants in an online support community successfully quit smoking, according to a new study by the University of Maryland. Compare that to figures from the American Lung Association, which show less than one quarter of smokers have success quitting.
The study examined the online behavior of 411 users of an online community called Quitnet.
The study shows once people make the decision to quit smoking, joining an online community increases their chances succeeding, said study co-author Ritu Agarwal, founder and director of the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.
The more time people spent on Quitnet, the more likely they were to quit smoking, said Agarwal.
