Vapor Victory
E-Cigarettes Show the Dangers of Surgical Smoke

When it comes to surgical smoke, do your staff members and surgeons wonder what all the fuss is about? After we made a commitment to go smoke-free, we met some resistance from surgeons and staff. To help drive home the danger of surgical smoke, we purchased 2 hot-pink e-cigarettes and a nicotine-free strawberry vaping liquid that posed no threat to staff or us. Then during a clinical committee meeting, the facility's medical director and I began to smoke the e-cigs while discussing the dangers of surgical smoke. At first, everyone was shocked, but they soon were asking questions and joining in on the discussion. The presentation worked — the next morning we heard our physicians talking to staff about the importance of evacuating surgical smoke.

Jane Haire, RN, BSN, CASC
Nebraska Surgery Center
Lincoln, Neb.
[email protected]