Short-term preoperative smoking abstinence.

Smoking produces some potentially reversible effects that may be relevant to perioperative morbidity. Although the reversal of many effects requires long-term (weeks to months) smoking cessation, a short abstinence period (12 to 72 hours) is sufficient to normalize several important cardiovascular parameters. The physiology of carbon monoxide elimination is the basis for recommending a specific smoke-free interval in the immediate preoperative period.