The purpose of this pilot randomized trial is to determine the feasibility of e-cigarettes
and telephone counselling (compared to transdermal nicotine replacement and telephone
counselling) as a harm-reduction tool that may lead to increased smoking cessation in the
perioperative setting in smokers presenting for elective surgery at the San Francisco
Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Secondary outcomes include acceptability of e-cigarettes
over transdermal nicotine replacement, length-of-stay in the post-anesthesia care unit,
hospital length-of-stay, postoperative complications within the first 30-days, and smoking
status 8-weeks after randomization. This pilot study is designed to provide the preliminary
data necessary to plan and fund a larger-scale randomized clinical trial that will assess the
utility of e-cigarettes in achieving smoking cessation perioperatively. Our ultimate goal is
to add to the limited existing data on the safety and efficacy of e-cigarette use in smoking
cessation, specifically in the perioperative setting where the risks of continued smoking are
great and the motivation to stop is high.