Smokers should quit at least 4 weeks before surgery, W.H.O. says

Many doctors say quitting is not always an easy sell. Dr. Amy Anne Lassig, a head and neck cancer surgeon at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota, said about half of her patients continue smoking even after their cancer diagnosis. “Some are able to quit cold turkey but for other patients, it’s such a stressful moment in their life that many feel hopeless, go in the other direction and keep smoking,” she said.