[Geriatric medicine shapes the Future : Recommendations for modern Geriatric Medicine that places older people and their needs at the centre].

In all types of surgery, smoking is associated with an increased risk of mortality and general morbidity. Clinical trials have shown that presurgical interventions to help patients quit smoking increase their likelihood of giving up smoking in the long term and reduce surgical complications. The presurgical period is considered an ideal moment for promoting smoking cessation, which, as is well known, offers short- and long-term health benefits and helps reduce health care costs. Health care professionals responsible for preoperative visits have a crucial opportunity to intervene in the smoking behaviour of patients scheduled for surgery and thus improve their health. Nevertheless, previous research indicates that the assistance provided in these visits to encourage patients to stop smoking is insufficient. Most of the studies published date back more than 15 years and were carried out outside the European context, for example, in Japan, China, and the USA. Most treatment guidelines propose addressing smoking cessation using the Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange Follow-Up (5As) brief intervention model, which consists of five steps. In the perioperative setting, the American Society of Anesthesiologists currently recommends a shorter three-step model called “Ask, Advise, and Connect,” which involves asking, advising, and referring (or connecting) smokers to expert professionals or services that promote smoking cessation, in this case before a surgical procedure.