Smoking pervades each and every part of our bodies, doing havoc on organs from top to bottom. While we are all aware of its well-documented consequences on lung and heart health, its subtle effects on fertility and reproductive health are often underestimated.

1. Smoking significantly lowers fertility.

Smoking makes it more difficult and time-consuming to conceive. The likelihood of conception reduces with increased cigarette consumption, especially when a woman smokes more than ten cigarettes per day. Furthermore, smoking lowers the success rate of in vitriol fertilisation (IVF), with smokers needing more cycles to achieve successful results than nonsmokers.

2. Smoking accelerates the onset of menopause:

Smoking prematurely depletes the ovarian reserve and increases ovarian ageing by 1-4 years, resulting in early menopause.

3. Smoking increases pregnancy risks:

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of spontaneous pregnancy loss, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and preterm labour. Furthermore, smoking while pregnant increases the risk of miscarriage, contributes to low birth weight, and limits intrauterine growth.

Cigarette smoke contains toxic components that raise the risk of ectopic pregnancy, a serious condition in which a fertilised egg implants outside the uterine wall.

4.Smoking puts the fetus’s health at risk:

Vaping and other tobacco use during pregnancy expose the fetus to nicotine, which impairs both fetal and postnatal development. Children whose mothers smoke are more likely to have allergies, asthma, respiratory infections, and decreased lung capacity. They are also at risk of obesity, hyperactivity, stunted growth, worse academic performance, and possibly links to significant mental illness.