I'm 20 years old and had upper and lower jaw and palate widening surgery about four weeks ago. Before my surgery I was a fairly heavy smoker (around a pack a day) and had my last one the night before the surgery. I've quit smoking before but in the midst of recovery and school I'm having a terrible time with cravings. I've tried the patch but it isn't working for me. I've seen a lot of places online that say you should quit smoking at least 2 weeks prior to the surgery to minimize bruising, and yet I had almost no bruising even though I smoked my last cigarette only hours before I went into the OR. My question is, while, yes, I realize I should just use this as an opportunity to quit smoking altogether, yes, I realize it's a horrendous habit, how long, realistically, do I need to wait before I can start smoking again? (i.e. how long before the threat of severe inhibition of healing fades)