A new study suggests that many smokers who quit before weight-loss surgery will eventually relapse.
Researchers followed 1,770 people for one year prior to weight-loss surgery and for seven years afterward. Roughly one in seven smoked at the start of the study, and nearly all quit before surgery.
Seven years after surgery, roughly one in seven patients smoked, including some former smokers who relapsed as well as some people with no history of smoking.
The results suggest that patients need more support for smoking cessation, said Dr. Carlos Roberto Jaen, a researcher at UT Health San Antonio, who was not involved in the study.