Smoking and Sperm : How does smoking affect sperm quality?

Smoking and sperm
Smoking can severely affect male fertility by lowering the sperm count, sperm motility, sperm shape and also damaging the sperm DNA

Does smoking affect my chances of becoming a father?

Hi, 

This is Dr Shah Dupesh, Consultant Andrologist, to answer the aforementioned question in a single line..

Yes it will!.

And you better stop smoking at the earliest….Better still stop it right away after reading this post.

Cigarette smoke contains over 43 known scientifically documented carcinogens that can impair your sperms motility, sperm concentration and also disrupt your sperms DNA.

Smoking has been associated with numerous other cancers too. What is very interesting is that there are three types of smoke…..

They are namely, first hand smoke, second hand smoke and last of all third hand smoke.

A. First hand smoke is what the smoker inhales.

B. Second hand smoke is what the people around him inhale (while he happily exhales).

C. Third hand smoke is when you inhale the residual smoke in an area where people smoke e.g. commonly in a hotel room.

What is important is that all three forms of smoke can affect a man’s sperm

Third hand smoke contains nitrosamines that are mutagenic and can disrupt sperm DNA thus impairing a man’s future fertility.

Interestingly, third hand smoke can also impair your chances of conception post costly fertility therapies. My advice…

Stop Smoking When You Are Planning For A Pregnancy

My father smoked, my grandfather smoked, they all fathered tens of children. Then why can’t I do the same?

It is important to understand that sometimes cigarette smoke and its effects may be trans-generational……..

to put it in simple terms the effects of smoke and its dirty products may not directly manifest in the smoker but may affect his yet unborn child and prospective children by causing mutations at the gamete cellular level.

Although your ancestors smoked and fathered children at one point in time, this gives no guarantee that you would spontaneously father a child while smoking.

Time to achieve a pregnancy is definitely longer in men who smoke compared to men who do not smoke.

Importantly, learn to always look at the bigger picture……

smoking increases not just the risk of infertility, it affects your heart, lungs, almost all body systems and increases your risk of undergoing an adverse cardiovascular event like stroke/myocardial infarction, obstructive lung disease and among numerous other cancers.

I still feel you should quit smoking!. It is not easy, but trust me it is worth it. Be persistent!……

……in quitting even the thought of smoking

My wife smokes. Will it affect her chance of getting pregnant?

It definitely will screw up her chance of conception big time!!. Smoking in women will affect her chance to conceive spontaneously and can have terrible effects on the unborn fetus.

Hope you enjoyed reading this short post. If you are looking for a Sexology clinic in chennai get in touch with us below

Dr Shahs Clinic for Male Infertility & Sexual Health
No 21, Bazullah Road, T-Nagar, Chennai 600017
Ph. No: 919790783856

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