[Survey of smoking status among preoperative patients and characteristics of smokers]

Smoking is an independent risk factor for both pulmonary and nonpulmonary perioperative complications. For safer anesthetic management, it is important to encourage and support the cessation of smoking in the preoperative period. As a first step to design a preoperative smoking cessation program, we conducted a survey of preoperative patients about smoking status and characteristics of smokers at an outpatient clinic for an anesthesiology department. The percentages of male and female smokers were 42% and 19%, respectively. Percentages of preoperative smokers considered to be in the preparation stage of smoking stage were 26% in male and 19% in female, as compared to 3% in male and 5% in female in general smokers. Twenty four % of both male and female patients were strongly committed to achieving smoking cessation. These trends in smoking characteristics indicate that preoperative smokers are more likely to quit smoking without heavy support and encouragement than general smokers. In designing a preoperative smoking cessation program, these results must be taken into consideration.