Smoking can make you impotent

Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, is the constant inability of a man to maintain an erection for sexual purposes. It is twice as likely to occur in smokers than non-smokers. Exposure to second-hand smoke is also a significant factor in becoming impotent.

Sexual functioning requires the coordination of several functions in the body. This includes the nervous system (mental stimulation) working in coordination with hormones, and the vascular system which pumps blood into the muscle tissue that maintains the erection. Smoking can affect all these systems, thereby, causing impotence.

Men who smoke are more likely to develop impotence than non-smokers, due to reduced blood flow to the penis caused by atherosclerosis.
Even without atherosclerosis, smoking can lead to the temporary constriction of blood vessels (vasoconstriction), which also reduces blood flow to the penis.

An international study, which grouped impotent smokers according to how many cigarettes they smoked each day, found:

• heavy smokers (40+ cigarettes/day) had the “softest” night-time erections;
• smoking was related to an abnormal decline of blood pressure in the penis.

It is possible to fully or partially recover erectile function by quitting smoking. The likelihood of recovery depends on the degree of damage that has been inflicted, and which ‘system’ has been affected. The greater the length of time spent smoking, the greater the damage to the biological systems that cause impotence.

Atherosclerosis occurs when there is narrowing and clogging of the arteries which reduces blood supply, and the amount of oxygen available, throughout the body.

Men who have reported losing their erections before orgasm have completely reversed this situation by quitting smoking.