Evaluation of Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Vital Seminal Parameters which Influence Fertility

Cigarette smoke contains many compounds which are proven carcinogens having detrimental effect on various organs. The free radicals and other carcinogens have a harmful effect on testicular function which may affect male fertility directly. Although many studies have been conducted to establish the relationship between cigarette smoking and male infertility, their conclusions have been highly controversial. This evoked our interest to investigate this intriguing research question. One hundred and twenty three subjects were included in the present study amongst which 20 were non smokers, 42 with smoking history of less than 5 years and 61 with more than 5 years. Cigarette smoking was found to have a detrimental effect on both the sperm motility and the sperm count, but the effect on sperm motility was greater than that of sperm count. This study throws light on the detrimental effect of cigarette smoking on male fertility as reflected by decreased vital parameters of semen like sperm motility and sperm count.