Smoking link to infertility

Doctors have compiled the most powerful evidence yet that smoking damages fertility.

The dangers are particularly serious for women, whose chances of conceiving are slashed by up to 40 per cent. A new report also reveals that the habit:

Experts warn that smokers are gambling with their reproductive health and urge young people to quit the habit to safeguard their chance of having a family.

The message follows a major investigation by the British Medical Association into the adverse effects of smoking and passive smoking on reproduction. The research, which covers all aspects of reproductive health at different stages in life, is the first of its kind in Britain.

Drawing together hundreds of recent scientific studies, it covers the effects of tobacco use on male and female fertility, menstruation, pregnancy, the unborn child, breast-feeding, and the menopause. It also examines the link between smoking and diseases of the reproductive system. The report highlights wellknown risks, such as the links between smoking during pregnancy and low birth weight, and between smoking and cot death.

However, it also points to new evidence that smoking increases the risk that the baby will have a cleft palate, or missing or deformed limbs, by almost a third.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said: "The sheer scale of damage that smoking causes to reproductive and child health is shocking.

"Women are generally aware that they should not smoke while pregnant, but the message needs to be far stronger. Men and women who think they might want children one day should bin cigarettes."

Research suggests that smokers reach menopause an average of two years earlier than others. Women who smoke are also more likely to suffer from painful, irregular periods.

The report also warns that smoking causes impotence, reduces semen quality and cuts the chances that IVF will succeed.

Dr Nathanson added: "Men who want to continue to enjoy sex should forget about lighting up, given the strong evidence that smoking is a major cause of impotence."

About 13 million people in Britain still smoke. Experts estimate that smoking is directly responsible for 120,000 deaths a year.

The BMA report renews calls for a ban on smoking in the workplace and recommends giving pregnant workers who cannot be protected from second-hand smoke the right to a leave of absence on full pay.

It also wants graphic pictures on cigarette packets to highlight the risks to reproductive health and to exert pressure on celebrities not to glamorise the habit.