Smoking is clearly hazardous to your erection. No doubt in my mind. Doctors tell us that smoking causes impotence for the same reason it causes heart attacks and strokes. The toxins in cigarette smoke can damage blood vessels, thus reducing blood flow in your arteries. An erection, of course, requires a surge of blood to the penis.
Healthy arteries expand to allow the increased flow.
But smoking can harden arteries so they won't expand as much. Also, over time, smoking can cause plaque to build up, clogging the arteries, further reducing blood flow. The process is a progressive one. And according to Dr. John Mulhall, director of the Center for Sexual Health at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, millions of men, for a variety of reasons, are having these problems. A smoker gets twice as much impotence as a non-smoker.