Smoking is clinically associated with high postoperative pain scores and increased perioperative analgesic requirements. However, the association between the duration of smoking cessation and postoperative opioid requirements remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the association between the duration of smoking cessation and postoperative opioid requirements. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 144 male patients who received intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with gastroduodenostomy. All patients were divided into three groups: G0, nonsmoker; G1, smoker who quit smoking within 1 month preoperatively; G2, smoker who quit smoking over 1 month preoperatively. Analgesic use, pain intensity, and IV PCA side effects were assessed up to postoperative day 2. As the duration of smoking cessation increased, the amount of postoperative opioid consumption decreased (β = −0.08; 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.11 to −0.04; P < 0.001 ). The total postoperative opioid requirements in G1 were significantly higher than those in G0 and G2 (G0, 75.5 ± 15.9 mg; G1, 94.6 ± 20.5 mg; and G2, 79.9 ± 19.4 mg P < 0.001 ). A multivariate regression analysis revealed that G1 was independently associated with increased postoperative opioid requirements (β = 12.80; 95% CI, 5.81–19.80; P < 0.001 ). Consequently, male patients who had ceased smoking within 1 month of undergoing a laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with gastroduodenostomy had higher postoperative opioid use than patients who had ceased smoking for more than 1 month and nonsmokers.