It is well known that smoking is harmful to health, but it is not universally known that smoking also causes erectile dysfunction (ED).
Numerous studies have confirmed that a significantly higher percentage of ED patients smoke than normal people in the same age group. The more you smoke, the higher the rate of ED. Modern medicine believes that smoking induces ED mainly through the following two ways: First, acute damage: an experimental study found that adult male dogs smoke a lot, can stimulate the penile cavernous nerve, resulting in the inability to erect, and the blood flow to the penis is also significantly lower than the level before smoking. The study concluded that this heavy smoking causes acute damage to erectile function, mainly because nicotine directly stimulates the sympathetic nerves in the body, producing a lot of adrenaline and norepinephrine, these two substances will make the smooth muscle in the penile corpus cavernosum contraction, resulting in the penis can not fill with blood, ED will ensue.
Second, chronic damage: This refers to the damage to erectile function caused by long-term smoking, which occurs slowly and subconsciously and eventually develops into ED. Chronic damage involves three main effects: (1) the impact on the blood supply to the penis: after long-term smoking, the arteries supplying blood to the penis, especially the directly related internal pubic artery and penile cavernous artery will be hardened and narrowed, which can significantly reduce the blood supply to the penis The amount of blood supply to the penis can be significantly reduced, and the lack of a blood source prevents the penis from getting an erection. Studies have also confirmed that smoking causes a decrease in blood supply to the penis, mainly in the form of decreased systolic pressure in the penile arteries, decreased intra-arterial blood flow velocity during erection, and decreased erectile rigidity.
(2) The effect on penile nerve control; as mentioned above, long-term smoking also stimulates sympathetic nerves, producing too much adrenaline and norepinephrine, resulting in ED. modern medicine has clarified that penile erection requires neurotransmitters released from nerve endings, allowing the smooth muscle of the penile corpus cavernosum to relax and the penis to fill with blood. Among the many neurotransmitters, a transmitter called nitric oxide (NO) has the greatest effect on promoting penile erection. Some studies have confirmed that after long-term smoking, NO levels in the penile corpus cavernosum are significantly reduced, leading to ED. (3) The effect on the level of sex hormones needed to ensure penile erection: experiments have found that after long-term inhalation of cigarette smoke in rats, testosterone levels in the body decreased. It was confirmed that the reason for the decrease in testosterone is that the toxic substances in cigarettes destroy the interstitial cells in the testes that are specialized in the production of testosterone, and once testosterone is lacking, the penis erection lacks the driving force.
Thus, it seems that to maintain good erectile function in the long term, smokers should quit smoking before it is too late.