How to Quit Smoking Before an Operation
13th May 2020
If you’re awaiting an operation at the hospital in the not too distant future, there will usually be a few things you need to do to prepare for the day. Whether it’s forgoing food for anything up to 24 hours before, or ensuring that you’ve packed your bags with everything you need for a potentially lengthy stay; if you’re a smoker, the most important thing you can do before an operation is to quit smoking. Let’s find out how vaping can help you make the transition to a non-smoker as smooth as possible.
Why You Should Stop Smoking Before an Operation
We all know that smoking is bad for our health. In fact, smoking and smoking-related diseases account for 16% of deaths in England annually and is the single largest preventable cause of death. While quitting smoking will be something you may regularly mull over, if you are awaiting an operation, it may be more important than you think to stop as soon as you can.
As well as improving your general health, quitting smoking as far in advance of your operation will reduce the risk of developing any unwelcome complications in surgery. Additionally, quitting cigarettes may speed up your recovery time, meaning you’ll be able to return to your normal life sooner than you might have thought.
If you’re able to quit smoking before your operation, health benefits that you might experience include;
- Lower post-anaesthetic side effects
- Less risk of a chest infection after your operation
- Reduced blood pressure and heart rate
- Reduced risk of blood clots after surgery
- Less carbon monoxide in the lungs
- More oxygen in the blood that’ll aid recovery
- Less chance of infection post-op
- risk of heart attacks and strokes reduced
- On average, you may spend less time in hospital
As well, the aforementioned health benefits that quitting smoking will afford, there are several other reasons why now might be the right time to quit smoking. In addition to your own health benefitting from a smoke-free new you, your friends and family wellbeing will also improve as you minimise the amount of secondhand and thirdhand smoke that they are used to experiencing when in your company. While it can often be easy to overlook, every time you have a cigarette, those around you will also be subjected to the dangers of cigarette smoke, which can harm their health. From bronchitis to pneumonia, by quitting smoking, you’ll not only be improving your own quality of life but of those nearest and dearest to you.
Plenty of research has been published about vaping and health. In 2015 the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health said that the consensus is that vaping has no negative effect on cardiac cells.
If spending a ridiculous amount of money on cigarettes and tobacco has become second-nature to you, then it might come as a surprise to you that by quitting you could be saving yourself up to £3,300 a year! Whether you fancy a couple of extra holiday’s or are keen on procuring that horse you’ve always wanted to have in your life, you’ll find that those extra pennies can be well spent on something that can improve the quality of your life, as opposed to diminishing it with all that toxic tobacco smoke.
How to Quit Smoking
Deciding to stop smoking in the lead up to surgery can be a big decision, but by making the move to non-smoker, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t decided to give up sooner. Traditionally a tricky thing to do, giving up cigarettes might sound hard, but, it’s far from impossible and choosing a method of nicotine replacement that meets your needs will be paramount to staying smoke-free.
With an estimated 3.2 million vapers in the UK, e-cigarettes have become a go-to for smokers seeking a viable route that suitably satisfies the nicotine cravings that you experience when you quit smoking. By using a cigarette shaped, battery-powered device, together with a nicotine-based e-liquid, vaping simulates the experience of smoking, minus the tens of thousands of lethal carcinogens, tar and carbon monoxide that your body absorbs every time you smoke. By heating the e-liquid at low temperatures, Public Health England (PHE) say that e-cigarettes are up to 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes and can potentially help smokers quit altogether. With a range of nicotine strengths available (0%, 0.6%, 1.2%, 1.8%), vapers can easily take control of the amount of nicotine they are vaping, and overtime reduces that amount to become both smoke-free and nicotine-free. Recognised by the NHS as a key stop-smoking tool, vaping products in the UK are stringently regulated and are registered by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
How to Start Vaping
Now that you’ve decided to quit smoking and switch to vaping, you may well be wondering where to start? Remember that quitting smoking may cause you some stress, therefore opting for an easy, fuss-free way to vape should act as your starting point. Investing in quality equipment will make the transition smoother, but it doesn’t have to cost you the earth. To get started, all you will need to vape is;
- A simple e-cigarette with a good battery
- Choose a flavour of e-liquid that appeals to your tastes
- Pick a nicotine strength that is suitable for your needs
There are some great vape kits to get you started out there, and some even better vaping starter kits that will come with all the essential kit you need. Vapour2’s Standard e-cigarette is one of the best devices available for first-time vapers and, depending on the kit you decide to purchase, expect to find; an e-cig battery, express USB charger, as well as a quantity of your chosen e-liquid cartridges.
Once you’ve decided which device to purchase, choosing an e-liquid flavour and nicotine strength will be next on your list. Selecting a flavour that suits your current tastes means that you will be far more likely to enjoy the experience of vaping, which will stand you in good stead for staying smoke-free in the future. From traditional tobacco and menthol flavours to sweet and fruity options, you’ll find an array of options at your disposal.
Now that you’ve found your favoured flavour choosing a nicotine strength that you are familiar with will help your body adjust accordingly, as well as keeping those pesky nicotine cravings at bay for an adequate amount of time. If you’re used to smoking low to mild strength of cigarettes then picking a concentration of 0.6% or 1.2% will meet your needs, and if you smoke strong cigarettes or rolling tobacco, options for an e-liquid with a nicotine strength of 1.8% will be the right one for you. If you find that once you start vaping, you find that have to vape more often than you need to, then you may need to increase the strength of nicotine in your e-liquid, and in the instance of feeling a little queasy or light headed after vaping, you may need to reduce the strength of nicotine. By starting somewhere in the middle, with a strength such as 1.2%, you’ll soon know which strength might be the one for you.
Choosing an entry-level device such as a standard e-cigarette that comes with a pre-filled cartridge, you won’t have to spend time fiddling around and getting frustrated with an overly complicated device. Simply screw the pre-filled e-liquid cartridge onto the end of your battery and just like that, you’re ready to vape. Hooray!
Get Expert Help and Advice
Are you thinking about going ‘cold turkey’? Please don’t. Quitting on the spot without any support aid means that your body will experience the unnecessary stresses that accompany nicotine withdrawal, which, quite frankly, neither you or those around you will be too happy about. Withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, irritability and disrupted sleep can quickly be alleviated by choosing to vape as a way to quit smoking and will provide your body with a smooth and relatively stress-free transition in the lead up to your surgery.
A member of the vaping industry since 2013, here at VSAVI, we have witnessed first-hand how vaping has helped millions of smokers stay smoke-free. If you’ve decided to start vaping as a way to help you quit smoking before your surgery, then we are here to help. Save money and use our unique discount code POST-OP and get 15% off your first order.
If you need any advice or have any questions about vaping, contact us at team@buyv2cigs.co.uk.