Does Smoking Effect Male Fertility and Reduce Sperm Count and Quality

In these modern times, many couples are facing an alarming problem in their marital life, that is infertility. It has been found that male infertility accounts for 40% of all infertility cases in the world. Many factors are responsible to affect male infertility such as environmental factors, lifestyle changes, lack of sleep, stress, and sexual dysfunction. Among lifestyle changes, smoking has been found to cause harmful effects on male reproduction and infertility.

The younger generation smoking tobacco is getting worse globally, especially in developing nations like India, and there is evidence that smoking has deleterious effects on male fertility and childbirth. Men who smoke have been found to have sexual dysfunction, poor semen quality, and sperm abnormalities like less sperm density, motility, and count. Tobacco smoke has hazardous substances like nicotine, heavy metals (cadmium and lead), and carcinogens which damage the sperms and lead to poor semen quality. But the good news is smoking, is a reversible factor for infertility as quitting smoking helps to improve male infertility.

Important Facts About Tobacco Smoking That You Need to Know?

Tobacco consumption is increasing worldwide and so it is important to know the harmful effects caused by tobacco on male reproduction. Tobacco is available in many forms and smoking in any form causes damage to sperm and semen quality which is associated with male infertility.

Tobacco contains more than 4000 kinds of substances including toxic substances like nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, radioactive substances and heavy metals like cadmium and lead.

Hazardous ingredients of tobacco smoke such as nicotine, cadmium, and lead are known to damage sperms and cause poor quality semen which is linked to male infertility.

It has been found that damage of sperms is directly related to the amount of nicotine and heavy metals and smoking exposure.

Smoking over 20 cigarettes per day is found to be harmful to the body and affects male fertility and reproductive capacity too.

What Are the Effects of Smoking On Male Reproductive System?

Smoking affects the male sexual functions which can cause male infertility such as:
Low sexual desire or libido can be caused by nicotine present in tobacco smoke.

Impotence due to erectile dysfunction — Erection normally occurs when there is an adequate blood supply to the penis so that the blood vessels around the penis get enlarged and fill with blood. Smoking disrupts the blood supply to the penis and causes erectile dysfunction which may be a cause for male infertility.

Smoking affects the quality of semen as it damages the sperms which affect fertilization and leads to male infertility. The damage to sperms can occur in many ways such as:

Decrease in sperm motility (the ability of sperms to swim)
Decrease in sperm viability and longevity (ability to thrive for a long time)
Decrease in sperm density (internal normal constituents)
Decrease in sperm count (less than 15million per milliliter)

Causes DNA damage in sperms by DNA fragmentation or change in chromatin structure

Decrease in the function of sperms due to the negative effect on the function of the sperm membrane.
Change in the morphology of sperms, (abnormal shape usually in the head or tail of the sperm structure.

Which Male Sex Organs and Hormones Are Affected by Smoking?

The primary function of the male sex organ testis is spermatogenesis (production of sperms) and production of male sex hormones (Androgens). Male sex hormone Testosterone is produced by Leydig cells of the testis, which plays an important role in spermatogenesis and maintenance of healthy sperms responsible for fertilization and fertility.

Smoking increases the metabolism of the testosterone hormone in the liver and may lead to low levels of the hormone in the body which affects sperm health.

In smokers, there is a decrease in the secretory function of cells of the testis which also can impair sperm quality.

Hormones from the pituitary gland regulate cells in the testis and if there is hormonal imbalance, the function of the testicular cells gets disturbed and affects sperm health.

In smokers, the epididymal function also gets affected which can damage sperm maturation.

Low levels of testosterone also affect male sexual functions such as low libido and erectile dysfunction.

Does Smoking Effect Male Fertility in Men with Varicocoele?

Varicocele is abnormal engorgement of the veins in the scrotum which is a major cause for male infertility.

Smoking associated with varicocele has detrimental effects on sperms and alters semen quality.

Smoking and varicocele both affect the quality of sperms and, is found to decrease the sperm count, which affects fertilization and causes male infertility.

Hence it is advised to quit smoking and get the varicocele treated for improving male fertility. Read more about smoking effect on male fertility