🚭 Why Quit Smoking Before Surgery!?🤔

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♦️ Introduction

Do any of you smoke? 🚬😃 With the rise of anti-smoking sentiment, I imagine smokers often feel squeezed into narrow corners.
When I was a child, “no smoking” meant only in fire-sensitive areas, and people smoked everywhere. Back then, male smoking rates exceeded 90 %—hard to believe now—and there was even a time when smoking was allowed on airplanes.
Even in hospitals, the walls of physicians’ lounges acquired a yellowish tint over time, thanks to “nicotine stains” on what were once white walls 😅.

As for me, I’ve never smoked. I tend to get addicted easily, so once I start something I can’t stop… 😅 That’s why I’ve always avoided it ( ｡•̀_•́｡)✧.

🔷 Smoking Cessation Is Recommended in the Perioperative Period

Before surgery, your surgeon or anesthesiologist will usually instruct you to quit smoking. Why is that? Is it just because hospitals are no-smoking zones? That’s part of it—but really, the recommendation is for your own benefit.

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♦️ What’s So Bad About Smoking? 😤🚬

In short, smoking dramatically increases the likelihood of various complications. And it’s not just limited to lung problems you might expect.

In fact, in patients who have smoked heavily (≥ 10 cigarettes/day) over a long period, the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications is reported to increase 2- to 5-fold compared to non-smokers 😵.

🔷 What are pulmonary complications?

🔷 Negative effects even in pediatric surgeries

Maybe one could argue that if an adult smokes, it’s their own risk. But when children are scheduled for surgery, having a smoker in the household becomes a risk factor for respiratory complications in the child.
So if there are kids at home, ideally no one should smoke.👶

♦️ How Long Should You Quit Smoking Before Surgery?

If possible, 6 to 8 weeks of abstinence is ideal. That timeframe is associated with a lower risk of postoperative pulmonary complications.
However, that’s not always realistic. Some people can’t quit, or they say they quit but sneakily smoke when no one is looking … 😡

Don’t despair. Even quitting for hours to days can start bringing beneficial changes — levels of nicotine and carbon monoxide fall, and many physiological parameters begin to improve.
So quit as early as you can, and maintain abstinence as long as possible.

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📝 Summary：Take Home Points

Smoking is a major risk factor in the perioperative period for both pulmonary complications and surgical site infections.
Many believe “Quitting right before surgery won’t do anything,” but the evidence suggests that even a short duration of abstinence (hours to days) has benefits.
It’s best to quit as early as possible and for as long as possible.

In a future article I’ll explain smoking cessation aids and alternatives, so if you’re curious, definitely keep an eye out!

📚 References & Further reading

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