What about electronic cigarettes (vaping)?
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have become more popular. Some people who use regular cigarettes are using e-cigarettes to cut down or quit smoking. If I use e-cigarettes, what should I do when I have surgery? There are many things we don’t know about e-cigarettes and surgery; here is what we do know:
E-cigarettes may help people who smoke cigarettes quit
Like cigarettes, their primary purpose is to deliver nicotine to the brain. Some people have had success in switching their nicotine-delivery device from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes May be safer than cigarettes, but are not “Safe”
Vapor from e-cigarettes does not contain combustion products like carbon monoxide - but does contain other chemicals that may be harmful. We don’t yet know their long-term effects.
It is better to quit “vaping” around the time of surgery - unless that would lead you to start smoking.
Evidence suggests that vaping may not be safer than smoking in terms of risks for surgical wound problems like infection. However, it is probably better to vape than to smoke around the time of surgery. It is better still to use nicotine patches or gum to get your nicotine.