Smoking and sex

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it tightens blood vessels and restricts blood flow. In the long term, it has even been shown to cause permanent damage to arteries. Since a man's erection depends on blood flow, researchers assumed smoking would affect erections. Studies have confirmed this time and again. In a study published in Addiction Behavior, it was shown that just two cigarettes could cause softer erections in male smokers. Results are corroborated by a review of all studies done on impotent men over the last two decades. The research showed that 40 percent of men affected by impotence were smokers, as opposed to 28 percent of the general male population. That is either a really amazing coincidence, or there is a relationship between smoking and male impotence.


Thirty million men in the United States suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED), and this number is expected to double by 2025!!
It should be noted that most of these men were older, and smoking is considered just one cause of erectile dysfunction. The others include stress, hypertension, alcoholism, diabetes, and prostate surgery. Young smokers may not notice negative effects right away, but they could be setting themselves up for "failure" later on.

Smoking injures the ability of blood vessels to respond to sexual stimuli. Normally blood vessels release a substance known as nitric oxide during sexual stimulation, resulting in the opening of the floodgates. Smokers release less nitric oxide and the blood vessels open less readily, resulting in a flaccid erection.