Nicotine Effects On Sexual Function
Nicotine Effects on Sexual Function
Erectile dysfunction devastates the functional success and pleasurability of tsexual intercourse. In 1998, The Massachusetts male ageing study suggested that the incidence of ED at around 20% and this data was further reinforced by the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) which showed, based on questionnaire findings, that nearly 20% of males aged 20 or older experienced erectile dysfunction. That number jumps to 50% or more when other health factors exist, such as smoking or high blood pressure or diabetes.
Nicotine Effects On Sexual Function – The Importance of Blood Flow
Nothing is more basic to a successful sexual experience, both for men and women, than good blood flow. Blood engorges both male and female organs during intimacy. Most realize that smoking is damaging, but many are not aware that the nicotine found in cigarette smoke, chewing tobacco, some electronic cigarettes, and even nicotine gum has a predictable effect of slowing down blood flow.
Nicotine Effects On Sexual Function – The Negative Effect of Nicotine on Blood Flow
This occurs through the Nicotine, which activates receptors called nicotinic receptors, which then cause activation of muscles that shrink blood vessels. Just the word shrink as it applies to sexual function sounds bad. Shrinking a blood vessel is like crimping a garden hose, and when that garden hose called a blood vessel is clamped off by nicotine, the organs that are so dependent on blood supply simply cannot fill up and perform their intended function.
Nicotine Effects On Sexual Function – The Good News
The good news is that endocrine researchers have found that the clamping down effect can fairly rapidly improve with the removal of smoking and nicotine. They measured penile tumescence, a measure of firmness with males who smoked and then stopped, and found that tumescence improved within days of smoking cessation. So once the smoke and nicotine are removed, the garden hose kink is relieved, and blood is allowed to flow more freely to the appropriate location!
Nicotine Effects On Sexual Function – The First Step Toward More Hot Monogamy
As a physician, stopping nicotine use and smoking is the first behavior that we encourage patients to adopt. The reward of immediate improvement in sexual function is often rapidly apparent, and deeply gratifying to patients and their partners. So stop the nicotine and look forward to the start of a new and improved intimate experience!
There you go…My husband and I need to quit smoking. I love this new column. Good job MH! I have a sex question for you, the doctor? I have often wondered about the risks of oral sex and throat cancer for monogamous married couples. Is there a risk? I would love to see a column on that.
My husband told me a story about someone from church, he did not tell me who, who was having a hard time getting a hard on. His doctor gave him the advice to quick smoking. The guy did. Sure enough, erections got hard again. The confidence came back. Thanks for explaining this. I thought it had to do with the smoking. Really, all Nicoteen has this effect.
So would they have to quit cold turkey? Because I assume using nicotine gum or patches to ween off smoking would still cause the same problem?
The information contained in this article is very helpful even if not a smoker. It clearly explains the physical components of functionality. Thanks for educating and empowering us.
Very informative column and a great addition to this site!
Greetings all! Responses as follows:
1. Must one quit cold turkey?
-– From the basic functional side, the best option is cold turkey for immediate benefit. The sooner the better, and the quicker the reward. However, this might be impractical from an addiction standpoint. Make no mistake, nicotine addiction is powerful, considered one of the most difficult physical addictions to break. This is because the human body has receptors that respond DIRECTLY to nicotine, and stimulation of these receptors in the brain causes a release of dopamine a powerful neurotransmitter. So we, as humans, are hardwired to LIKE nicotine. That is why it is so difficult to stop! Do not beat yourself up if it is difficult to stop. It is simply the way you were born. Knowing all of the pitfalls to nicotine itself will help to motivate.
2. Regarding the oral sex question, there is no increased risk of cancer with oral sex in and of itself. However, the sexual history is important here. If there is a history of multiple sexual partners, then there is a risk for sexually transmitted disease. One of the more common, but "under the radar" sexually transmitted diseases is condyloma or genital warts. This is caused by a virus, and can cause slow growing lesions that have the possibility of mutating to cancer. The risk is low, but is real.’The risk also applies to cervical cancer. The possibility of genital warts or other sexually transmitted diseases should be addressed with a qualified medical clinician.
If there are no STD's, then there is no increased risk of cancer.
Welcome Dr. Kapteyn. You are an important addition to MH. There are a lot of misconceptions about sex. Write a column about what help women improve our sex drives?
Question: Is there a health concern for anal sex? Can you talk about that?
If you don't mind me answering that, Jenne there most certainly is. that part is very dirty, and it can cause fissures, e-coli and infections can easily happen because it's so mall and the penis is too big to fit inside there, so it can tear, resulting in infections, also because the skin inside there is so delicate. In my opinion it's an "exit only" area.
Regarding anal sex, the comments regarding E. Coli are correct, as well as other pathogens (things that might cause disease). If a person has any type of genital warts, etc., this can transmit to this region. Fissures, or cracking of the skin at the anal canal will most certainly occur, which leads to bleeding, and infection can cause slow healing. Hemorrhoids can certainly worsen. Certainly if there is anal penetration at some point during sexual activity, then contact with the vagina immediately following would put one at much higher risk for "vaginosis", which is a general term for irritation and inflammation of vaginal lining.
Regarding all nicotine containing products, the studies thus far have actually shown that stopping cigarette smoking has the most beneficial impact on improved sexual activity. The positive news is that Nicotine gum and patches do not show as severe of an impact on sexual function. It is thought that this is likely due to the lower and relatively controlled dose of smoking cessation medications. However, any nicotine containing product impacts sexual organs, heart, brain, and any organ system.
AllySue, we will gladly address libido, or sex drive in our next column!