Introduction

Nicotine addiction is currently the most serious civilizational threat. The prevalence of smoking is enormous, while tobacco is easily available, which poses numerous threats to human health, especially to people treated for particular conditions.

Aim of the study

To study nicotine addiction as a problem affecting patients treated in surgical wards and its influence on the occurrence of pulmonary complications.

Material and methods

The study sample comprised 130 adult patients of surgical wards before hospital discharge. The research tool was a self-developed questionnaire including questions about frequency and intensity of smoking cigarettes by the patients and the occurrence of pulmonary com-plications, their symptoms in the post-surgery period.

Results

There were 66.2% of active smokers in surgical wards, of whom 48.5% did not quit the habit for the period of surgical treatment. Post-surgery complications occurred in 60% of former smokers and 62.8% of active smokers. Statistically, respiratory complications were more common in smokers (p = 0.001) and former smokers (p = 0.036) compared to non-smokers.

Conclusions

Tobacco smoking is an issue affecting patients treated in surgical wards and is conducive to the occurrence of respiratory complications in both current and former smokers.