Surgery Is Good ‘Teachable Moment’ to Help Smokers Quit
A new review from Denmark finds that programs to help people quit smoking before surgery can reduce the risk of complications afterward.
The fact alone that a person has surgery scheduled increases their chance for quitting smoking successfully. for smokers who want to quit and who receive preoperative stop-smoking support, this can be an optimum time.
David O. Warner, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, leads the efforts by the American Society of Anesthesiologists to promote smoking interventions by anesthesiologists in the period right before and after surgery.