You are of course totally correct in assuming that smoking affects your sex life. In fact, several recent studies have looked at exactly this question in regard to male impotence and found that there is a link between smoking and difficulties having an erection. Now tell me how cool is that? That is surely far too grown up, that is as grown up as your aged grandfather!

Smoking has been linked to coronary artery blockage, but now we know that arteries in the penis are damaged by smoking, too. In a study of men with penile artery blockage (average age 35), the smokers were significantly more blocked than non-smokers. And the more they smoked, the more their arteries were blocked. Since erections are mainly caused by blood flowing into the penis through arteries, unclogged arteries are very important in enhancing one’s sex life.

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 one study published in 1986 in Addiction Behavior, it was shown that just two cigarettes could cause softer erections in male smokers. Results are corroborated by a definitive study published in June 2001 that looked at 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. Interesting eh?

So what does all this discussion about impotence mean for women? During sexual arousal, the labia, clitoris, and vagina also swell up with blood, similar to a man’s penis, enhancing sensation and arousal. If nicotine can restrict blood flow and cause erectile dysfunction in men, it can be assumed that blood flow is restricted in women as well, and may have a negative effect on sensation.

In the British Medical Associations report: “Smoking and Reproductive Life”, the report states that Women who smoke take longer to conceive. Among smokers, the chances of conceiving fall by 10 ñ 40 per cent per cycle. The greater the quantity of cigarettes smoked, the longer a woman is likely to take to achieve pregnancy.

Cigarette smoking can also affect male fertility: smoking reduces the quality of semen. Men who smoke have a lower sperm count than non-smokers, and their semen contains a higher proportion of malformed sperm. By-products of nicotine present in semen of smokers have been found to reduce the mobility of sperm.

Of course, quitting smoking would also eliminate stained teeth, unhealthy skin, rapid accumulation of wrinkles on the face, and clothing, hair, and breath that stink of smoke. That might improve one’s sex life. Decreasing your risk of cancer and heart disease ó which also do tend to have negative effects on one’s sex life ó can also be sexy in the long run.

Smokers may have enjoyed a sexy image in the past, but research tells us that they are not “doing it” as often as non-smokers. Studies show that men between 25 and 40 years who smoked one or more packs per day had sex less often than non-smoking men of the same age. Another study suggested that carbon monoxide in the blood caused by smoking inhibits the production of testosterone (a hormone that creates sex drive).

Lastly, smoking affects fertility. Smokers’ sperm come in many sizes and shapes – many of them not normal. Some have two tails or two heads, others have giant or tiny heads, and some have split tails. The more a man smokes, the worse the damage. Nicotine essentially poisons the sperm and its ability to fertilize an egg.

Smoking isn’t good for your lungs or heart as is very well documented, and it certainly isn’t good for your sex life. It is no longer cool. Are you sleeping with an inactive ashtray? Is your libido being smoked away?

You are of course totally correct in assuming that smoking affects your sex life. In fact, several recent studies have looked at exactly this question in regard to male impotence and found that there is a link between smoking and difficulties having an erection. Now tell me how cool is that? That is surely far too grown up, that is as grown up as your aged grandfather!

Smoking has been linked to coronary artery blockage, but now we know that arteries in the penis are damaged by smoking, too. In a study of men with penile artery blockage (average age 35), the smokers were significantly more blocked than non-smokers. And the more they smoked, the more their arteries were blocked. Since erections are mainly caused by blood flowing into the penis through arteries, unclogged arteries are very important in enhancing one’s sex life.

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 one study published in 1986 in Addiction Behavior, it was shown that just two cigarettes could cause softer erections in male smokers. Results are corroborated by a definitive study published in June 2001 that looked at 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. Interesting eh?

So what does all this discussion about impotence mean for women? During sexual arousal, the labia, clitoris, and vagina also swell up with blood, similar to a man’s penis, enhancing sensation and arousal. If nicotine can restrict blood flow and cause erectile dysfunction in men, it can be assumed that blood flow is restricted in women as well, and may have a negative effect on sensation.

In the British Medical Associations report: “Smoking and Reproductive Life”, the report states that Women who smoke take longer to conceive. Among smokers, the chances of conceiving fall by 10 ñ 40 per cent per cycle. The greater the quantity of cigarettes smoked, the longer a woman is likely to take to achieve pregnancy.

Cigarette smoking can also affect male fertility: smoking reduces the quality of semen. Men who smoke have a lower sperm count than non-smokers, and their semen contains a higher proportion of malformed sperm. By-products of nicotine present in semen of smokers have been found to reduce the mobility of sperm.

Of course, quitting smoking would also eliminate stained teeth, unhealthy skin, rapid accumulation of wrinkles on the face, and clothing, hair, and breath that stink of smoke. That might improve one’s sex life. Decreasing your risk of cancer and heart disease ó which also do tend to have negative effects on one’s sex life ó can also be sexy in the long run.

Smokers may have enjoyed a sexy image in the past, but research tells us that they are not “doing it” as often as non-smokers. Studies show that men between 25 and 40 years who smoked one or more packs per day had sex less often than non-smoking men of the same age. Another study suggested that carbon monoxide in the blood caused by smoking inhibits the production of testosterone (a hormone that creates sex drive).

Lastly, smoking affects fertility. Smokers’ sperm come in many sizes and shapes – many of them not normal. Some have two tails or two heads, others have giant or tiny heads, and some have split tails. The more a man smokes, the worse the damage. Nicotine essentially poisons the sperm and its ability to fertilize an egg.

Smoking isn’t good for your lungs or heart as is very well documented, and it certainly isn’t good for your sex life. It is no longer cool. Are you sleeping with an inactive ashtray? Is your libido being smoked away?

Basically, the human penis is made up of two parts: the shaft and the glans (also known as the head). The shaft is not a muscle as some have suggested. It is made of three columns of tissue, one of which continues forward to form the glans. The three columns are called Corpus Spongiosus, which forms the underside of the penis and the glans, and Corpora Cavernosa, which are two sections of tissue located next to each other on the upper side of the penis.The shaft is covered in skin, while the glans supports the loosely attached fold of skin known as the foreskin. The foreskin is attached to the underside of the penis, in an area called the frenum. And, lastly, the penis is traversed from one end to the other by the urethra. This canal serves as a passage for both urine, produced in the bladder, and the sperm, produced in the testicles.

Erection is achieved by filling the two Corpora Cavernosa with blood. Unlike some other mammals, humans have no erectile bone and have to rely instead on engorgement with blood to reach erection. When the erection is triggered by sexual stimulation, the arteries that bring blood to the penis dilate in order to increase blood flow. The sponge-like Corpora Cavernosa fills up with blood, which makes the penis stiff. The stiffer tissues constrict the veins that carry blood away from the penis in order to maintain the erection.

Every male baby is born with a full set of reproductive organs. However, these organs are not fully developed and remain so until the boy enters puberty. At puberty, usually between the ages of 10 and 14, the pituitary gland starts secreting hormones that induce the testicles to produce testosterone. Testosterone is the hormone that controls all the physical and many of the psychological traits that define man.

Its presence ensures the development of bigger bones and higher muscle mass in men. It is also responsible for the increase in penis and testicles size, the apparition of pubic hair and the deeper tone of the male voice. The penis stops growing at the end of puberty, which comes around the age of 18. However, there are many environment factors that may delay or accelerate the onset or the end of puberty. This means that some men may experience penis growth beyond the age of 18.

A common urban myth that almost anyone has heard of is the idea that penis size is linked to the size of another body part. The most common versions of this myth focus on the size of hands, feet, nose or overall height to determine the size of the penis. Actually, there is no such link. Although the development of the penis in the embryo is controlled by the same genes as the limbs, penis growth at puberty is entirely governed by testosterone and has nothing to do with the other parts of the body.

Some men are born with big penises. This is an undisputed fact of life whose causes are still a mystery to science. As stated above, there is no correlation between penis and body size. Studies conducted on bats have shown that the sexual organs and the brain require large quantities of energy to develop. At some point, the developing embryo decides whether it wants a bigger brain or a bigger set of sexual organs. However, science is still at a loss to understand how the decision is made and why.