Figures from the Amercian Society of Anesthesiologists show 10% of American smokers who quit successfully do so because they're about to have or have just had surgery.

The Mayo Clinic's Dr. David Warner told the ASA's annual meeting anesthesiologists have a great opportunity to help patients quit.

Warner: "People are much more likely to be thinking about their health, what they can do to improve their health. It turns out that it's also just a very emoitional time, and when you're talking about something that is as difficult to achieve for many people as smoking cessation, it takes just this kind of upset to get them to make a behavior change like this."

To see a video outlining how quitting smoking can increase your odds of having successful surgery, click here.