New urine test identifies smokers

A urine test for plastic surgery patients who lie about their smoking habits has been developed at the University of Birmingham.

As well as health risks such as heart disease and cancer, smoking is known to harm the chances of success of plastic surgery operations.

Experts say one cigarette can affect the body's ability to heal a wound.

Dr Graham Cope, who developed the test that was piloted in Yorkshire, said he hoped it will help people stop smoking.

Pink urine

"The test is easy to use and gives a quick result in a few minutes", he said.

"I hope the test will be used as part of the education in plastic surgery to get more people to stop smoking, hopefully for good."

The surgical team at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, used the test after questioning 100 patients about their smoking habits.

The urine turns pink if the sample is from a smoker and becomes darker the more the person smokes.

Caroline Payne, who carried out the study, said smoking had an adverse effect on surgical outcomes.

She said: "Our aim is to reduce these complications by introducing a simple effective bedside test to show smoking status and the quantity smoked.

"This will help us make a decision about when, or if, to electively operate on a patient knowing exactly their cigarette consumption."