Research conducted during the past two decades has pointed strongly to the involvement of environmental causes in infertility.
In addition to certain toxic chemicals, there are quite a few environmental causes of infertility.
Smoking is one of the most common causes of environmental factors that cause infertility.
- Smokers have lower sperm counts. On average males smokers have sperm counts that are 13% to 17% lower than non-smokers.
Dr. Marilyn F. Vine, University of North Carolina, Fertility Sterility Journal 1994
- Quitting smoking increases sperm counts. A study consisting of three male subjects who were smokers followed these subjects for 5-15 months after they stopped smoking. Their sperm count rose from 50-800% which suggests that toxic chemicals in the smoke were responsible for low sperm counts and that it is reversible.
Dr. Marilyn F. Vine, University of North Carolina, Fertility Sterility Journal 1994
- Smokers have an increased number of abnormal sperm. From the American Journal of Epidemiology 1994:
“Male smokers have an increase in sperm abnormalities, thereby suggesting a mutagenic effect.”
- Smokers face higher rates of infertility. Smokers are 3-4 times more likely than non-smokers to take longer than a year to conceive. 38% of non-smokers were able to conceive in their first cycle of attempting pregnancy compared to 28% of non-smokers.
Dr. D. Baird , National Institute of Environmental Health, NC Journal of American Medical Association
- The Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago has done quite a lot of research on the effects of smoking on fertility. In a study conducted with mice, it was shown that nicotine had an adverse effect on the maturation of eggs, on ovulation rates and fertility rates, as well. This study also showed more chromosomal abnormalities in eggs that had been exposed to nicotine.
- A study done by the British Medical Association showed that smokers have a 40% lower chance of conceiving than non-smokers. This study also found that smoking and passive smoke accounts for as many as 5,000 miscarriages every year as well as being the blame for 120,000 cases of impotence in men aged 30-50.
- One large British study showed that smokers had twice the risk of still being childless five years after ending the use of contraceptives than did non-smokers.
Even if you question the validity of some of this research, it still seems incontrovertible that smoking does interfere with fertility and healthy pregnancies.
So, if you are trying to get pregnant, you should probably seriously consider quitting smoking, and ditto for your partner.
Can Smoking Cause Infertility?
Fertility: Little Things Mean a Lot
Smoking and Infertility
Environmental Causes of Infertility Part 3