Smoking and Infertility

Infertility: definition

On having normal sexual intercourse regularly for a full year without the utilization of any contraceptives, if a couple is unable to give birth to children then either the man or the woman is infertile, in some cases both the man as well as the woman can be infertile.

Factors Responsible For Infertility

Smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco containing substances, lifestyle behaviors like alcohol intake, increase in weight, rigorous exercise and stress, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the common causes of infertility in men as well as women. There are other factors also which are found to trigger off infertility to a substantial degree.

Causes of female infertility

• Ageing
• Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases(PID)
• Ovulation difficulties
• Diabetes
• Thyroid disorders
• Liver problems
• Kidney disease
• Problems occurring in the fallopian tubes
• Problems suffered by women in the uterus and cervix
• Endometriosis(a disorder in the female reproductive organs)

Causes of male infertility

• Low sperm production resulting from hormonal problems in the testicles or pituitary gland, treatment of cancer with chemotherapy or radiation and several other factors.
• Genetic problems(specially on the Y chromosome)
• Diabetes mellitus and thyroid disorders
• Blocked ejaculation as well as retrograde ejaculation
• Problems resulting in chromosomes( Klinefelter syndrome)

How smoking causes infertility?

Smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco containing substances induces infertility in men by decreasing sperm production and in women smoking reduces the quality of eggs and makes them infertile. In case of men, smoking leads to hazardous effects in their system.

Smoking is responsible for the decrease in testosterone production in men moreover, when a man smokes, toxic substances found in tobacco smoke are released into the blood. From the bloodstream these hazardous chemicals make their way into the semen and the obvious consequence is that the man becomes infertile. On the other hand, as a woman smokes, tobacco changes the cervical mucus, prevents the sperm from reaching the egg and induces infertility.

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• Effects of Smoking
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• Cigarette Smoke Induced Erectile Dysfunction
• Smoking and Cancer
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