Having surgery is a powerful motivator for patients to quit smoking
3 out of every 4 patients who smoke want to quit - but it’s difficult to do so.
An analysis of a national dataset found that surgical patients were more likely to quit compared with individuals not having surgery. The increase in the odds of quitting after surgery ranged from 30% for outpatients procedures to 150% for major procedures such as heart surgery. About one in every 12 quit events in older Americans can be attributed to having surgery, a powerful public health benefit.
The average patients who smokes gains 6-8 years of life if they quit.
Thus, clinicians have a great opportunity to have a lasting impact on their patients if they can help them quit.
