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Smoking and Male Sexual Health
We all know how bad smoking is for our health. A cigarette contains over 400 toxic substances such as tar,
nicotine, carbon monoxide that can cause dozens of dangerous diseases: emphysema, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disorder, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and other types of cancer. A study has shown
that in the UK only smoking kills about 114,000 people each year.
If the above hasn't scared you yet, what follows will make you put that cigarette out and never touch one again.
A hard-hitting campaign conducted by the UK Public Health Ministry warns that "Smoking damages your sex life".
Trying to make people quit is not that easy though. The British used powerful ads: "Does smoking make you hard?
Not if it means you can't get it up" or "Your penis thinks you should stop smoking".
It is common knowledge that 90% of the smokers if not all of them actually want to quit, but lung, cardiovascular
and other long time health threatening diseases are not motivating enough, especially for young people.
What would motivate them better is fear of infertility, impotence and even unattractiveness.
However, awareness of the sexual implications of smoking is still low - 90% of smokers do not
realize smoking is a leading cause of impotence.
The connection between smoking and sexual health is no new discovery. It has been known for a few decades
now that smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction by 50% for men in their 30s and 40s. Of course,
smoking is not the only factor, but it is a highly avoidable one.
During an erection, large quantities of blood flow, under pressure, into the penile blood vessels. This causes
the penile vessels to become compressed, maintaining the penis erect. How can smoking impair this process?
On the one hand, blood flow in the penile arteries is restricted by the fatty deposits that smoking causes
to appear in these vessels. Blood flow is also restricted by nicotine stimulation in the brain that causes
acute vasospasm (rapid contractions in penile tissue). On the other hand, the valve mechanism that traps
blood in the penis, maintaining it erect, is impaired as a result of nicotine in the blood stream.
This is known as venous dilation and its result is the inability to maintain an erection.
If this is not enough motivation for you to stop smoking, we've got other news too.
According to scientists at the Boston University, smoking can cause a decrease in penis size!
The substances contained in cigarettes cause heart and lung diseases by lowering the elasticity of blood vessels
in the lungs and heart. American scientists suggest that the penile blood vessels may be affected in the same way.
We have to keep in mind that penile arteries are much smaller than those of the heart so their constriction
may have more severe consequences.
We reckon this should be motivating enough for any man who wants to stop smoking.
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