“Smoking badly affects your sex life” – says several research studies. Several studies conducted on male impotence found that smoking causes difficulties in having an erection.

Unfortunately, there is little research done on how smoking affects women’s sexual health. However the reason for male impotence due to smoking can be presumed to affect women as well.

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor i.e. it tightens your blood vessels and restricts blood flow. In the long term, it also causes permanent damage to arteries. Since a man’s erection depends on blood flow, smoking would affect erections. Young smokers may not notice the negative effects of smoking right away. They find how they “fail” later on.

In a research study, it is found that two cigarettes could cause softer erections in male smokers. The research also shows that 40% of men affected by impotence were smokers, whereas it is 28% in the general male population.

Then, how does smoking affect sexuality of women? During sexual arousal, the labia, clitoris and vagina also swell up with blood. It enhances the sexual sensation and arousal. As nicotine is found to restrict blood flow in men, it can be assumed that the same happens with women.

Quitting smoking helps your sexual not only by helping blood flow, it also eliminates stained teeth, unhealthy skin, wrinkle development on the face and breath that stink of smoke. It also improves one’s sex life. If you quit smoking it also reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease, which tend to have negative effects on sexual health.