Why talk about drinking and smoking?
Cigarettes and alcohol affect your body just as strongly and sometimes more than any of the medically prescribed drugs you may be taking. Because of their various effects on your lungs, heart, liver and blood, to name a few, cigarette or alcohol consumption can change the way an anesthetic drub will work during surgery, so it is critical to let you anesthesiologist know about you consumption of these substances. This is also true, especially true, for so called “street drugs” – marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and the rest. People are sometimes reluctant to discuss these things, but it is worth remembering that such discussions are entirely confidential between you and your doctor. Your anesthesiologist’s only interest in these subjects is in learning enough about your physical condition to provide you with the safest anesthesia possible.
