Study: Chinese anesthesiologists willing to help patients quit smoking, reduce tobacco-related deaths

The statistics are frightening: one-third of the world's smokers (300 million) live in China, and chronic diseases caused by smoking are a growing burden to public health there. Current projections estimate that the number of tobacco-related deaths in China will increase to 2 million annually by 2025. A new study in the February issue of the journal Anesthesiology looks at whether Chinese anesthesiologists are willing to help their patients quit smoking, and ultimately help reduce these projected tobacco-related deaths.

Because patients in the U.S. are advised to abstain from smoking for as long as possible both before and after surgery, the study's lead author believes it represents a golden opportunity for people to take action to quit, and he is committed to supporting the campaign across the globe.

"Every year, in the United States, we care for up to 10 million smokers in surgery. We continue to work to reduce the number of patients who enter surgery as smokers. There's a tremendous need in China to do the same. This study was designed to be the first step in how we might support anesthesiologists' work with their patients to get them to quit smoking prior to surgery," said David O. Warner, M.D., lead author on the Chinese smoking study and chair of the ASA Smoking Cessation Initiative Task Force. "Anesthesiologists are the heart and lung specialists in the operating room, making sure our patients' vital functions are working properly. Science proves that patients who quit smoking prior to surgery heal better."

An estimated 30 to 40 million Chinese citizens undergo surgery each year, and many of these patients are smokers. According to Dr. Warner, this places these patients in contact with an anesthesiologist who may be able to help him/her stop smoking.