Among the least publicized risks of cigarette smoking are its possible effects on reproductive processes and human sexual behavior. Approximately 30 percent of Americans of reproductive age smoke cigarettes.
Cigarette smoking affects reproductive processes in both males and females.
Effects of Smoking on Fertility in Women Cigarette smoking can diminish the ability to become pregnant and to bear a full-term child. Such smokers are also less likely to benefit from treatments for infertility than are their nonsmoking peers. Although there is no definite consensus on whether cigarette smoking is a direct cause of infertility, research has consistently shown that cigarette smokers have a higher risk of being unable to conceive than do nonsmokers. Perhaps lifestyle factors among cigarette smokers other than smoking account for this elevated risk. They are also likelier to have menstrual irregularity in middle age.