Perioperative Smoking Cessation BUndle in a Tertiary Care Hospital - Can Turning Virtual Improve Outcomes?

Smoking continues to be a burden to the healthcare system in Canada. It is well-known that smokers suffer more complications and higher risk of mortality after surgery than non-smokers. A quality improvement project at Royal Columbian Hospital recently showed that it is possible to implement a smoking cessation bundle for all current smokers during their preadmission clinic visit. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the bundle was abandoned as it relied heavily on in-person interactions. The investigators wish to study the effect of a structured smoking cessation bundle, delivered remotely, on smoking cessation and postoperative complications. The aim is to determine the feasibility of giving the remotely delivered bundle to elective surgical patients before or around the time of a preadmission clinic visit, and whether it can reduce smoking rates and postoperative complications versus the standard uncoordinated advice.