‘Tobacco abuse reduces fertility among women by 60%’

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 17

Tobacco not only damages the lungs, but also the heart, kidneys and even sperms. It can lead to infertility in men as well as women. Statistics reveal that around six million Indians die every year due to tobacco smoking. Recent researches say that approximately one in four women in the metro cities is addicted to smoking.

“Not just men, but women are also addicted to some form of tobacco products. Smoking tobacco reduces women’s chances of conceiving by at least 60 per cent, and is also linked to ectopic pregnancy and other tubal factor infertility. Chemicals present in a cigarette also make certain cervical changes that even put them at an elevated risk of cervical cancer. In females while entering into early 30s, fertility gradually starts declining and the process speeds up after 35, but tobacco abuse triggers it well before the time. Regular smoking also creates an imbalance in the levels of antioxidants in the ovaries that prevents fertilisation and hence, implantation,” says Dr Bakul Kapoor, gynaecologist & IVF expert, Indira IVF Hospital, Ludhiana.

“Tobacco affects male fertility also. It damages the blood vessels and affects blood flow. Some studies have also linked effects of smoking with erectile dysfunction and decreased sexual performance. Passive smoking may also affect male fertility. Male smokers can suffer decreased sperm quality with lower mobility and it boots numbers of abnormally shaped sperms. Also, if one is a chain smoker, it might also decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilise eggs. Smoking damages sperm which is less likely to fertilise. The embryos developed from smoker sperms are less likely to survive due to DNA damage,” she added.

Female smokers need more ovary-stimulating medications during IVF and still have fewer eggs at retrieval time and have 30 per cent lower pregnancy rates compared to IVF patients who do not smoke.