Smoking can make you impotent

Smoking can make you impotent
18 Nov 2007, 1628 hrs IST,PTI

NEW YORK: It's important that you give a second thought before lighting your next fag -- if researchers are to be believed, smoking can ruin your sex life.

According to a study carried out by the researchers, men who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction, and the more cigarettes smoked, the greater the risk, the ScienceDaily has reported.

"Although erectile dysfunction is not a life threatening condition, it compromises well-being and quality of life. Smoking prevention should be an important approach for reducing the risk," lead researcher Prof Jiang He was quoted as saying.

In fact, Prof Jiang and his colleagues at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine came to the conclusion after examining the link between smoking and impotency in a study in China involving 7,684 men.

The researchers used questionnaires to assess the status of cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction. Those surveyed were men between the ages of 35-74 who did not have vascular disease.

The team found that there was a significant link between the number of cigarettes that men smoked and the likelihood they would experience erectile dysfunction. The association was found to be stronger in those with diabetes.

"An estimated 22.7 per cent of erectile dysfunction cases among Chinese men might be attributable to cigarette smoking," Prof Jiang said.

The findings have been published in the 'American Journal of Epidemiology'.