Although everyone knows that “smoking is harmful to health”, smoking can lead to diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory system, but most men do not know that smoking also has great damage to male sexual function.
If you or your brother are smoking, I hope everyone can read this article carefully to understand what is the connection between smoking and male sexual function? If you have sexual function problems, you should also reflect on whether you have a smoking habit and consider your own sexual well-being.
01. Smoking is so closely related to sexual dysfunction!
Numerous studies have shown that smoking is mainly associated with erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, especially arterial ED. That is to say, smoking will make penis erectile function worse, thereby affecting male sexual function.
1. The incidence of erectile dysfunction is higher in smokers. Experts such as Man-nino surveyed 4,462 Vietnam War veterans and found that the prevalence of ED among never smokers, former smokers, and smokers was 2.2%, 2.0%, and 3.7%, respectively. It can be seen that smokers have a significantly higher incidence.
Studies have also found that smoking exacerbates the relationship between erectile dysfunction and risk factors such as coronary artery disease and high blood pressure, and smoking may increase the likelihood of moderate or complete erectile dysfunction by 2 times.
2. The proportion of ED patients with smoking habit is higher. Condra’s survey showed that among ED patients, 81% were smokers or former smokers, and 19% were never smokers; the corresponding proportions in the general population were 58.3% and 41.7%, respectively.
3. The more smoking, the worse the erectile function. Lemere et al reported that 80% of men with ED smoked, and those who smoked for a longer time had shorter erections and lower hardness than those who smoked for a shorter time. If you smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day, the probability of developing ED will reach 42.3%.
A study by Natali et al showed that people who smoked heavily (>20 cigarettes per day) were twice as likely to develop severe ED compared to those who smoked less.
In addition, smoking can cause a significant decrease in sperm motility and cause male infertility. The number of normal spermatozoa decreased and the abnormal spermatozoa increased in smokers; the longer the smoking age and the greater the smoking volume, the worse the sperm quality.
The survey on the reproductive health status of smoking men in China found that 54.86% of infertile men had the habit of smoking, and the longer the smoking age for men, the greater the impact on reproduction.
If you are also a smoker and want to test your own sexual ability, you can go to the backstage of “Ding Ding Good Doctor” and reply “Self-Test” to get the result by yourself
02. Why does smoking cause erectile dysfunction?
Studies have found that this is closely related to the nicotine in tobacco.
Penile erection is a neurovascular physiological phenomenon. Under sexual stimulation, the parasympathetic nerve activates cGMP through the neurotransmitter NO (nitric oxide), which promotes the relaxation of the corpus cavernosum and increases the blood flow of the penile artery, thereby congesting the cavernous sinus and erecting the penis. If this pathway is affected, it can cause erectile dysfunction.
Among them, the key neurotransmitter NO is produced from L-arginine catalyzed by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Nicotine and other components in tobacco can reduce the activity of nitric oxide synthase (mainly neuronal subtype nNOS), and superoxide anion in cigarette smoke can directly degrade NO, both of which will lead to the reduction of neurotransmitter NO, affecting the Penile arterial vasodilation causes penile vasoconstriction, resulting in poor erectile function.
In addition, cigarette smoke damages the vascular endothelium and impairs vasodilation mediated by the endothelial subtype eNOS, which has also been confirmed by numerous studies.
To put it simply, smoking causes the arteries of the penis to constrict and reduce blood supply, thereby causing erectile dysfunction.
This is the exact opposite of the principle of “Viagra” PED5 inhibitor drugs to treat erectile dysfunction and improve erectile ability, which is “reverse Viagra”.
03. Stopping smoking improves erectile function
If you have a history of smoking, it means that your blood vessels will suffer silent damage, and it will continue to accumulate over time. However, not all damage is permanent. There is growing evidence that some damage may be reversed if smoking is stopped and not restarted before middle age.
Interestingly, in heavy smokers, penile swelling and vascular erection parameters were significantly improved 24-36 hours after smoking cessation.
In a survey of 143 ED patients who quit smoking, nearly 50% reported improved erectile function 6 months after quitting, twice as many as those who did not quit smoking, and the effects lasted at least a year.
There are also studies showing that patients who successfully quit smoking with 8 weeks of nicotine replacement therapy have seen significant improvements in erectile function at a 1-year follow-up.
In general, young men (<50 years) experience improvement in erectile function after smoking cessation. Brothers, for the sake of your male prowess, you must quit smoking as soon as possible. Quit smoking early, benefit early, don’t wait for “no” to regret it.