Smoking is causing impotence, miscarriages, and infertility
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
London
New figures show that smoking is having a far more serious effect on sexual health than previously thought and is responsible for many thousands of cases of impotence, cervical cancer, miscarriages, and infertility in the United Kingdom each year.
More needs to be done to protect people from the harmful effects of passive smoking and also to discourage them from smoking, says the report from the BMA.
About 120 000 men in the United Kingdom aged 30 to 50 are impotent because of smoking, according to new calculations in the report. In addition, smoking is implicated in about 1200 cases of malignant cervical cancer and around 3000 to 5000 miscarriages every year.
The report also points out that women who smoke reduce their chances of conceiving by up to 40% each month, and couples who smoke are less likely to respond to infertility treatment. In pregnancy smoking can increase the risks of miscarriage, certain fetal malformations, such as cleft lip and palate, and stillbirth and death of the newborn. It can also triple the chances of having a low birthweight baby and reduce the quality of breast milk.
In infants and children passive smoking can cause sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections, and asthma.
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."(Zosia Kmietowicz)
New figures show that smoking is having a far more serious effect on sexual health than previously thought and is responsible for many thousands of cases of impotence, cervical cancer, miscarriages, and infertility in the United Kingdom each year.
More needs to be done to protect people from the harmful effects of passive smoking and also to discourage them from smoking, says the report from the BMA.
About 120 000 men in the United Kingdom aged 30 to 50 are impotent because of smoking, according to new calculations in the report. In addition, smoking is implicated in about 1200 cases of malignant cervical cancer and around 3000 to 5000 miscarriages every year.
The report also points out that women who smoke reduce their chances of conceiving by up to 40% each month, and couples who smoke are less likely to respond to infertility treatment. In pregnancy smoking can increase the risks of miscarriage, certain fetal malformations, such as cleft lip and palate, and stillbirth and death of the newborn. It can also triple the chances of having a low birthweight baby and reduce the quality of breast milk.
In infants and children passive smoking can cause sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections, and asthma.
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."(Zosia Kmietowicz)