The Effect of a Perioperative Smoking Cessation Program on Rates of Smoking Cessation/Reduction and Perioperative Complications: a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Previous studies have shown that patients have up to one-third fewer complications after surgery when they quit smoking at least several weeks before surgery. Nicotine replacement therapy (which relieves cravings for cigarettes) and support by healthcare professionals have been shown to help patients quit smoking, particularly when encountering a major health event (e.g. surgery). In addition, quitting smoking in preparation for surgery sometimes results in quitting for a longer period of time after surgery, giving these patients the health benefits of long-term smoking cessation such as reduced rates of cancer and heart disease.

The preadmission clinic at St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Ontario, is assessing how effective a new 'Stop Smoking' program is for patients preparing for surgery. The program will include brief counselling in the clinic, smoking cessation brochures, six weeks of free transdermal nicotine replacement therapy and a referral to the Canadian Cancer Society's Smokers' Helpline telephone advice line. Patients that are smokers and preparing for their elective surgery will be invited to join the study, then be assigned to a group that either participates in the program or not. These groups will then be compared in terms of success at quitting smoking and complication rates around the time of surgery.