A New Warning for Male Smokers
06/26/01
Anti-tobacco groups, frustrated that warnings about cancer and heart disease do not always accomplish their goals, have been trying another tactic lately: advertisements that link smoking with impotence, complete with cigarettes that droop ominously when
Although that contention has been disputed, a new study concludes that smoking and impotence do appear to be correlated.
Writing in a recent issue of Preventive Medicine, researchers from the University of California at Irvine said that a review of the literature showed that 40 percent of impotent men studied were smokers, compared with only 28 percent of men over all.
"Our review shows a clear relationship," wrote Dr. Tammy O. Tengs and Dr. Nathaniel D. Osgood. "Impotent men were significantly more likely to be current smokers than men in the general population."
The researchers based their conclusions on a review of 19 studies that reported the smoking habits of 3,819 impotent men.
They acknowledged, however, that their report was limited by having to rely on the work of other researchers. They could not, for example, measure the potential effects of other factors linked to impotence, like alcohol use, diet and physical activity.