MEN who smoke a packet of cigarettes a day are almost 40 per cent more likely to be impotent than non-smokers, according to recent research.

A study conducted by La Trobe University and partners in Australia questioned more than 8,000 men aged 16 to 59 about their health, smoking habits and sexual problems. About one in ten reported suffering erection problems for a month or more in the previous year.
Of those interviewed, more than a quarter were smokers and just over 6 per cent smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day. Those who smoked fewer than 20 cigarettes a day were 24 per cent more likely to report impotence problems than the non-smokers, while those who smoked a packet or more each day were 39 per cent more likely.

This supports the findings in 2001 of a study at the University of California. It examined the data from 19 studies carried out in the previous 20 years, and revealed that 40% of impotent men were current smokers compared with 28% of men in the general population.
Tobacco affects the circulatory system and impairs efficient flow in blood vessels, including those in the sexual organs. Nicotine dilates the veins that drain the penis of blood, and the tars clog the arteries that provide the incoming blood supply. Overall, this means that the penis cannot contain enough blood to keep it erect.

Figures published in the Simerini newspaper have suggested that 20% of Cypriot males have potency problems, in contrast with the 10% reported by the Australian study. However 38% of Cypriot men smoke compared with 19% of Australians, and this strongly suggests that the risk of impotence is much greater for smokers.

Younger men (aged 16–44 years) are more likely to smoke than other groups yet may be least likely to change their behaviour in response to conventional quit-smoking propaganda. They are probably the group most concerned about possible reduction in potency, and increasing awareness about the link between smoking and impotence may encourage more young men to stop smoking.

And what help is there for those wanting to quit? A study by Frank Schmidt and Chockalingham Viswesvaran from the University of Iowa used a meta-analysis, utilising the results of more than 600 studies totalling nearly 72,000 people. The results, which were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and included 48 studies of hypnosis covering 6000 smokers, clearly showed that hypnosis was three times more effective than Nicotine Replacement Therapy (patches).

David Robinson D.Hyp,NRAH,LPNLP is a hypnotherapist practising in Limassol.
Contact details: tel.99238450, email david@janerobinson.net